Along with the Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream", the Octet Op. 20 ranks among the uncontested masterworks of the young composer's early years, 1825/26.

The work crosses the boundaries from chamber music to orchestral ensemble not only in the form of the famous Scherzo which Mendelssohn expanded through additional wind parts and inserted into the London version of the First Symphony op. 11. A composers note in the printed edition of the parts reads: "This Octet must be played in all par...