Mendelssohn- Octet Boccherini- Quintet, Op 37 No 7

Mendelssohn’s Octet, Op. 20 occupies a proud place in the history of works by indecently young composers; it is doubtful whether even such prodigies as Mozart and Schubert produced such an extended, mature work at the age of sixteen. Moreover, one of its movements granted the composer the honour of having an adjective named after him pass into common use – for this Scherzo Mendelssohnian is the only appropriate description. The coupling on this legendary recording – selected for inclusion by the Penguin Guide to the 1000 Finest Classical Recordings – is the much rarer Boccherini Quintet, is, like much of his music, gentle and genial… a quality that led to a contemporary once waspishly describing him as ‘Haydn’s wife’.