Matiegka Nocturne for Flute, Viola and Guitar, Op. 21

During the first decades of the 19th century, there was a sudden increase in the popularity of the guitar. Most of the leading composers of the time, including Weber, Rossini, Verdi, Paganini, Berlioz, and Schubert wrote for the instrument. Wenzel Thomas Matiegka, an specialist in the instrument, published his Nocture for Flute, Viola, and Guitar, Op. 21 in 1807. It is a work in five movements, with dedication to "M. Le Comte Jean Esterházy". Schubert was also an avid guitarist: he took up the instrument when he was a teenager, and later enjoyed the practice of weekly visits with Mauro Giuliani, the Italian who was one of the leading guitar specialists, to make music.  In 1814 Schubert discovered Matiegka's Notturno, op 21, for flute, viola, and guitar and decided to adapt it for use in one of his family's regular household music sessions, adding a cello.