Boundless energy is the word! When the Leipzig String Quartet takes on Mendelssohn's string quintets, the atmosphere is electrifying. Nervous sixteenth repetitions, above them the...

Boundless energy is the word! When the Leipzig String Quartet takes on Mendelssohn's string quintets, the atmosphere is electrifying. Nervous sixteenth repetitions, above them the animation and euphoria of the theme in the first violin, propelled by accents in the lower voices: this is music charged with energy, and it rushes forward on its stormy path. And then we suddenly find ourselves in another world: the greatest intimacy pervades the presentation of the second theme, and with quiet legato motion it opposes an idyll's pastel hues to the eruption initially staged by the forces of nature.