At age 16 — please repeat, 16 — Felix Mendelssohn composed one of the most miraculous pieces of chamber music of the last two centuries. His Octet for Strings in E-flat Major is a pedal-to-the-metal ...
Fortunately the work happens to be a showstopper that never fades, full of vibrant energy, exciting virtuosity and dramatic ­pathos. Written, almost unbelievably, when the composer was only 16, the ...