Felix Mendelssohn composed his remarkable String Octet in October 1825, when he was 16 years old; the first performance took place before the end of that year in one of the Sunday musicales at his family’s home in Berlin.
The composer’s original scoring called for double string quartet–that is, four violins, two violas and two cellos. Apart from simply expanding the numbers of these instruments, later performances sometimes include double basses as well, which were added by Arturo Toscanini for his broadcast performance of the work with his NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1947.
Here is the Octet in a spirited, excellent performance:
