String Octet in E-flat Major, Op.20 (parts); Felix Mendelssohn

String Octet in E-flat Major, Op.20 (parts) by Felix Mendelssohn

Published by International Edition

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) is one of the most important German composers of the Romantic era. He was most comfortable composing in a charming, relatively conservative style influenced by the Classical period and free from many of the developing trends of the Romantic Era, while incorporating important innovations in many works. He also held a singular position in German musical life as the founder of the Leipzig Conservatory, a prominent conductor of the renowned Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and a seminal figure in the revival of the music and legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Mendelssohn's brilliant, youthful String Octet in E-flat Major, Op.20 for four violins, two violas, and two cellos is the most significant work of its kind and one of the composer's most beloved works. Beautiful lyricism and infectious energy meld with glimmers of the supernatural in the fairy-like scherzo, culminating in the finale, a contrapuntal tour-de-force based on a melodic fragment from Handel's ''Hallelujah Chorus''. Includes parts only. Master level, Grade 6.