Mendelssohn - Octet in E-flat Major - Opus 20

Mendelssohn - Octet in E-flat Major - Opus 20

The Gewandhaus-Quartet and the Arzberger-Quartet perform Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20 at the Gohliser Schlosschen, Leipzig in 1997. The work was composed in the autumn of 1825, when the composer was just 16 years of age. Mendelssohn wrote the work as a birthday gift for his friend and violin teacher Eduard Ritz. The octet was slightly revised in 1832 before the first public performance on January 30th, 1836 at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. The scherzo is believed to have been inspired by a section of Goethe's Faust entitled "Walpurgis Night's Dream”. The entire work is notable for its extended use of counterpoint, with the finale beginning with an eight-part fugato.