Although they have opus numbers, the last two books of Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte are not really genuine "opera." This is especially the case with the pieces assembled as Op. 102 and published in Bonn after the composer's death. Two of these, Nos. 3 and 5, composed on December 12, 1845, may be Mendelssohn's last works for piano. The set contains works in major and minor keys and a variety of song types, including solos, duets, and part-songs.

As in every book of Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte, the first piece resembles a solo song. Through a syncopated pattern in the right hand Mendelssohn creates an atmosphere of agitation. The soaring melody provides a foil to the constantly leaping left hand, the ungainly octaves of which plod throughout the piece. Harmonically, the piece is not adventurous, straying from E minor only once, to the tonic major.

The second of the set is primarily a duet in texture, although there are moments in which there are three and even four voices. Marked Adagio, the D major piece moves between polyrhythmic and homorhythmic passages. After a brief, intense push toward "sharp" harmonies in the middle section, we hear a return of the opening material, compressed and modified to provide a firm close.

No. 3, in C major and 6/8 meter, is fast and dance-like. The division between the accompaniment, consisting of block chords, and the leaping, single-line melody is clear. The nature of the melody, which is mainly a series of neighbor-tone motions interspersed with a few rising scales, makes the material of the piece more textural and gestural than melodic. Mendelssohn closes the first part of and the entire binary-form piece with a return to the introductory neighbor-note figure, foregoing the falling interval and rising scale that marks the A section.

Swirling arpeggios mark No. 4, in G minor, which also has the texture of a solo song. After two measures of introduction, a melody begins that features powerful chromatic alterations, particularly the flatted second scale degree, which presses downward to the tonic note, G natural. As the melody spins out into repeated fragments of itself, the harmony changes and the structure seems to fall apart. A reprise of the opening measures of the melody, however, sets thing back on track, although Mendelssohn does not hesitate to insert a new figure before the close.

The fifth piece, in A major, is predominantly duet-like, but the overall effect is more pianistic than vocal. A syncopated pulse, to be played with the thumb of the left hand, permeates the entire piece and provides pedal tones around which the melody and bass move gracefully. Passages that seem like reprisals move off in new directions, although they are all based on primary material.

No. 6 is a part-song, evident in its predominantly homophonic texture, despite which it has the thinnest sound of the set. More than in any other piece of the Op. 85 set, outer parts move independently.

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This is the penultimate work in the last book of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words series. Actually, while the collection consists of eight volumes and 48 pieces, several additional works were posthumously added, raising the total to over 50. Subtitled "Kinderstück" (Children's Piece), this A major effort is a delightful work whose simple manner and bright mood make it instantly appealing. It is also easy to play and in the end must be considered one of those rare pieces that can be enjoyed and performed by both children and adults. It presents a lively theme that brims with innocence and playful wonder, its gentle but energetic patter hurrying about with glee and a sense of abandon. This piece exhibits the influence of Schumann, who deftly captured the playfulness and innocence of children—and their mischief and worries, too—in his masterful 1838 collection of 13 piano pieces titled Kinderszenen (Scenes From Childhood). Here, Mendelssohn chooses to convey only happiness and playfulness, but takes a mere minute to do so. The charming main theme is heard just three times, but yields attractive secondary material just as bubbly and vivacious.

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