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Mendelssohn Octet in E Flat Major, Op. 20

Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

CHAPTER

The Last Woman by Felix Mendelssohn

Fannie Mendelssohn herself, Felix's sister, said this about the movement. At the end, the first violin takes a flight with feather-like lightness, and all has vanished. If this doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what music would. The last woman also defies in some ways a formal analysis. It kind of combines elements of Sonata form and Rondo form,. But Mendels sohn intersperses all of this with a set of fugues. This passage is a nightmare to rehearse as it's so delicate but when it works, it is pure magic.

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