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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.