Conrad Wilson summarizes much of its reception ever since: "Its youthful verve, brilliance and perfection make it one of the miracles of nineteenth-century music.

[3] Mendelssohn wrote his octet and gave a signed score to his friend and violin teacher Eduard Rietz [de] as a birthday present.

[4] When Mendelssohn composed his octet, it was a rather new genre, and he may have been inspired by Louis Spohr's Double Quartet in D minor, Op.

The scherzo, later scored for orchestra as a replacement for the minuet in the composer's First Symphony at its premiere, is believed to have been inspired by the section of Goethe's Faust titled "Walpurgis Night's Dream".

Mendelssohn instructed in the public score, "This Octet must be played by all the instruments in symphonic orchestral style.