March 26, 2021 - Virtual Concert Series Newsletter

In 1825 Mendelssohn was all of 16 years old when he composed his ever popular Octet and gave it to his violin teacher Eduard Rietz as a birthday present. A revised version of the piece, which was published in 1832, has delighted music lovers ever since. The manuscript which Mendelssohn presented to his violin teacher contains 100 more bars of music than the revised version which was published. This week you will hear Mendelssohn’s original version of the Octet. The performance took place during the 2019 Heifetz summer program. Nicholas Kitchen plays the highly virtuosic first violin part. Rounding out this week’s virtual concert are movements III and V of Bartok’s 4th string quartet, performed by the Borromeo String Quartet.