Felix Mendelssohn composed his Viola Sonata in C minor, MWV Q 14, when he was only 14 years old.

The autograph score is dated 14 February 1824.

The work was not published in Mendelssohn's lifetime - in fact not until 1966[1] - and it was not assigned an opus number.

[2][3] Mendelssohn himself was an accomplished violinist and violist, playing one of the viola parts in an early performance of his own String Octet in E flat major, and was fully aware of the difficulties of writing for the viola.

The sonata has three movements: A typical performance lasts just under 25 minutes.