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Mendelssohn’s 31 chamber compositions
were his ‘secret world’. The ‘thunderbolt’
of his Octet, a masterpiece written by a
young man of 17, marked the beginning
of an exceptional chamber output.
Schumann took Mendelssohn into his
affection and in 1835 gave him the
nickname
Felix Meritis
. Once again,
analysis of his chamber works proves to
be in contradiction with what we thought
we knew about Mendelssohn as a person.
His String Quartets show above all a
passion for drama and tragedy.