Felix Mendelssohn's posthumously published Perpetuum mobile for piano in C major, Op. 119, at first seems tailor-made for those pianists whose right hands are blessed with the dexterity of an elf and who relish showing it off. A more lopsided piece, as far as the superficial element of left hand vs. right hand is concerned, one will not quickly find; and yet a truly accomplished pianist will tell you that the real trick is in playing the seemingly simple left-hand part with grace and finesse. While it isn't true to say that anyone can learn to play notes really fast, it is true that there are many more pianists who can burn the keys up than there are who can really draw nuance from a simple, transparent supporting line. The Perpetuum mobile, then, has hurdles for all; but truth be known, it is not often played, for, like so much of Mendelssohn's non-Songs-Without-Words piano music, many players and listeners alike find the music too ear-tickling, too ingratiating—too meatless, if you will.

We do not know when Mendelssohn wrote Op. 119; perhaps the early 1830s? The piece is marked Prestissimo, though the music is so obviously meant to be blisteringly fast that the marking is almost unnecessary. Most of it is played out quietly—only a few times does the composer draw the sort of climax that demands sheer volume, but then he does not hesitate to smack a "fortissimo" on the page.

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