Episode 16: Ottetto

Two of Felix Mendelssohn’s most beloved works – both written when he was a teenager – are featured in this episode. Centerpiece is the premiere recording of the original 1825 edition of Mendelssohn’s Octet for Strings, Op. 20, which the composer titled “Ottetto.” It contains more than 100 bars of music not heard in the final version. Also on the program: a scintillating piano-eight-hands performance of Mendelssohn’s “Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

This Episode’s Playlist

Felix Mendelssohn: Song Without Words, Op. 109
Juan-Salvador Carrasco, cello | Lynne Mackey, piano
South Market Stage, Grace Christian School, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 04.22.2022

Felix Mendelssohn: Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream
arr. Piano eight-hands
Carlos Avila, piano I | Jun Cho, piano I | Ta Wei Tsai, piano II | Anton Smirnoff, piano II
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.17.2017

Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44 No.1
III. Andante Espressivo ma con moto [excerpt]
Rachell Wong, violin | Shuxiang Yang, violin | Stephanie Block, viola | Ben Fried, cello
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.20.2016

Felix Mendelssohn: Ottetto, Op. 20 (Original 1825 version)
I. Allegro molto
II. Andante
III. Scherzo. Allegro moderato
IV. Molto allegro e vivace
Nicholas Kitchen, violin | Hagai Shaham, violin | Ani Kavafian, violin | Shmuel Ashkenasi, violin | Katharina Kang, viola | Paul Neubauer, viola | Antonio Lysy, cello | Beiliang Zhu, cello
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.05.2019

Go Deeper

• “Follow along, and you’ll be in a familiar house, only you’ll suddenly find yourself in a room that wan’t there before.” Listen to the on-stage introduction and listening guide to the original Ottetto presented by Heifetz Institute Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen.
• “And He Shall Reign” –  Violinist Timothy Judd of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra offers some fascinating insights into the Handelian inspirations of Mendelssohn’s Octet in an excellent post from his music-appreciation blog The Listeners Club.
• The original manuscript to the Mendelssohn’s Ottetto may be found in the vast holdings of the Music Division of the Library of Congress, where it was transcribed and edited by Nicholas Kitchen. It’s just one of the many deep connections Nick Kitchen has with the LOC, up to and including his longstanding use of the Library’s priceless Goldberg violin. Read more here.

More at heifetzinstitute.org