Listen "Mendelssohn's Octet"
Episode Synopsis
There has never been a more prodigiously talented child composer than Felix Mendelssohn and proof of that is his Octet. Written in 1825 when he was 16 years old, it was unprecedented in form: there had been double quartets but nothing like this where all the instruments are combined with unique brilliance and clarity of texture. Above all, though, it's the Octet's sheer lyrical joyousness and exuberant energy that set it apart, the teen Mendelssohn's generosity of spirit thrillingly combined with his compositional genius.
More episodes of the podcast Record Review Podcast
Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante K.364
05/01/2026
Schumann's Kreisleriana
29/12/2025
Monteverdi's L'Orfeo
15/12/2025
Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande
08/12/2025
Berlioz's Harold in Italy
01/12/2025
Beethoven's String Quartet Op.132
24/11/2025
Bartok's Piano Concerto no. 2
17/11/2025
Gershwin's An American in Paris
10/11/2025
Rachmaninov's Etudes Tableaux
03/11/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.