Mendelssohn was only 16 years old when he wrote one of his most famous works, the string octet in Eb major for double string quartet in the year 1825. No doubt, this young prodigious composer was being influenced by the great composers and music being performed throughout Europe, and one such piece that he may have crossed paths with is Schubert's famous String Quartet No. 14 "Death and the Maiden," which was written just one year prior and used themes from songs he had written previously. Schubert was a prolific melodist and song-writer and his influence carries into modern-times, and was the inspiration for Dinuk Wijeratne's "A Letter from the After-life" from his Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems, written in 2015.

Dinuk Wijeratne - “A Letter from the After-life” from Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems (2015)
Felix Mendelssohn - Octet Op.20

Violins: Luri Lee, Aaron Schwebel, Byungchan Lee, and Sheila Jaffe
Violas: Hezekiah Leung, Ryan Davis
Cellos: Drew Comstock, Andrew Ascenzo
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