“The German Mozart” is how Robert Schumann called the gifted erudite Felix Mendelssohn- Bartholdy. The genius’ mature talent emerged in his childhood. At the age of nine, he was an accomplished pianist, and by the time he was a teenager he had composed quite a few of his striking works, including the Octet for double string quartet in E flat major, one of the marvels of 19th-century chamber music, and the famous overture A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Mendelssohn wrote his String quartet No. 2, Op. 13 in A minor at the age of eighteen, drawing inspiration from Beethoven’s late string quartets. Saturated with musical grandeur, this composition also reveals the composer’s talent as a songwriter. The quartet is based on his vocal miniature, the love song Frage (Ist es wahr?) (Question (Is it true?) from the Twelve songs, Op. 9. As Mendelssohn himself wrote, it is presented in the first and final fourth movements, and the remaining movements are reigned by the emotions that flow from this song.

The composer’s great talent is showcased by the Čiurlionis Quartet: Jonas Tankevičius (1st violin), Darius Dikšaitis (2nd violin), Gediminas Dačinskas (viola), Elena Daunytė (cello).