Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) String Symphony No. 6 in E-flat major (1821) 00:00 - Allegro 03:31 - Menuetto - Trio I - Menuetto - Trio II 07:38 - Prestissimo Performed by the Northern Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Nicholas Ward. "Mendelssohn wrote his twelve String Symphonies between 1821 and 1823. The first seven were all composed in 1821, with the eighth a year later, dated 27th November 1822, and the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth, completed in March, May, July and September 1823 respectively. A thirteenth symphony, started in December that year, was replaced by a fully orchestrated work, to become his Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 11. The string symphonies were written when Mendelssohn was a pupil of Zelter and reflect the inclinations of the teacher and Mendelssohn's own clear debt to earlier classical models, with an increasing interest in the contrapuntal practices of Bach and Handel. ... The String Symphony No. 6 in E flat major continues Mendelssohn's explorations of the possibilities of the classical form, with a central movement that consists of a Minuet and two Trios." - Keith Anderson Painting: A Boy with a Lesson Book, Jean-Baptiste Greuze