Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Octet for Strings, Piano Trio No. 1

Two leading Czech quartets, the Smetana and the Janáček, joined their creative forces in this account of one of the phenomenal early masterpiece of European music that is the string octet written by the sixteen-year-old Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809 - 1847). Robert Schumann appropriately dubbed Mendelssohn the "Mozart of the 19th century." Indeed, who else but he could ever aspire to equal the status of the young Mozart as regards precocious manifestations of genius; and who else than Mendelssohn could be said perhaps even to beat Mozart in terms of the artistic versatility and sheer ripeness of the compositional output of his childhood and adolescence. The work is coupled here with the recording of the first of Mendelssohn's two piano trios, along with the octet forming the very apex of his chamber music production. One can hardly imagine an ensemble better qualified for the interpretation of this music than the Suk Trio at the top of its creative powers. Slogan: Mendelssohn chamber highlights in history's finest account.