Beethoven wrote this masterpiece for winds already in 1792, originally as a work for wind octet, consisting of 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns and 2 bassoons. Despite being written in his youth, it was only published in 1834, well after his death, and thus given the next available opus number: 103.

It has been thought that Beethovens only other work for the same instrumentation, the Rondino (WoO 25), was intended either to have replaced the slow movement of Op. 103 or as an extra movement after the Menuetto. The Rondino was only ever published as a stand-alone work.

Beethoven reworked his Wind Octet in 1795 for strings, which became his String Quintet, Op. 4. This arrangement by David M.A.P. Palmquist, written for the Carion Wind Quintet, is an arrangement of the original Wind Octet. The String Quintet was not consulted. Following Beethovens (and others) own custom, the title follows the current size of the ensemble. Thus the Wind Quintet version is titled “Quintet” and not “Octet”.

Beethoven wrote the original while still in service at the court in Bonn and it would probably have been considered light music, perfect for dinner parties and such. The Menuet an early example of Beethovens replacement in the classical structure of movements, with a Scherzo instead of a Menuet. Although still titled Menuet, it really begs to be played as a Scherzo.

Beethoven komponerede sit mesterværk for blæsere allerede i 1792, oprindeligt som et værk for oktet, dvs. for 2 oboer, 2 klarinetter, 2 horn og 2 fagotter. Til trods for at det blev skrevet mens han var ung, blev det først udgivet i 1834, længe efter hans død, og dermed givet det næste ledige opusnummer: 103.

Man har spekuleret at Beethovens eneste andet værk for samme besætning, Rondinoen (WoO 25), var tænkt enten som en erstatning for den langsomme sats i Op. 103 eller som en ekstra sats efter Menuetten. Rondinoen blev dog kun udgivet som et selvstændigt værk.

Beethoven omarbejdede sin Blæser Oktet i 1795 til strygere, hvilket blev til hans Stryge Kvintet, Op. 4. Dette arrangement af David M.A.P. Palmquist, skrevet til Carion, er et arrangement af den oprindelige Blæser Oktet. Stryge Kvintetten var ikke konsulteret. Vi har valgt at følge Beethovens (og mange andres) norm, hvor værkets titel følger den aktuelle besætning. Derfor hedder versionen for blæserkvintet “Quintet” og ikke “Octet”.

Beethoven skrev det originale værk mens han stadig tjente ved hoffet i Bonn og det vil formodentlig have tjent som underholdningsmusik, perfekt for tafler og andre lejligheder. Menuetten er et tidligt eksempel på Beethovens udskiftning i den klassiske satsform, med en Scherzo istedet for en Menuet. Selvom den stadig hedder Menuet, vil den rigtig gerne spilles som en Scherzo.

This edition is scored for Wind Quintet:

Flute
Oboe
Clarinet in Bb
Horn in F
Bassoon