In the second instalment of the Consone Quartet's cycle, the foursome continues it's exploration of Felix Mendelssohn's string quartets, simultaneously delving into the work of his sister Fanny, with her only work in the genre. Despite it's turbulent character, Felix's String Quartet in E minor, Op. 44 No. 2, was written three months after the composer's marriage, during a period of stability and creativity. In contrast, the String Quartet in F minor, Op. 80, was composed while he was recovering from shock, following Fanny's premature death. It is a work of striking bitterness and agitation, an unambiguous reflection of his distraught mental state. Fanny's String Quartet in E flat major is an attractive and well-crafted work, which, due to her family discouraging her pursuit of a career in composition, remained unpublished until 1988. It is given a vibrant performance here by the Consone Quartet, the first period instrument quartet to be selected as BBC New Generation Artists.

The Suddeutsche Zeitung calls soprano Henrike Legner a "promise" - and now she presents her debut album on the GENUIN label. In doing so, she offers us an extraordinary, Romantic lied repertoire whose small treasures never fail to astonish: selected lieder by Felix Mendelssohn, including the finest from his estate, are brought together on this album. Brilliantly accompanied by pianist Gerold Huber, Henrike Legner's clear and expressive voice sings us two dozen beautiful discoveries straight into the heart, with magical power!

In the first of several projects for Fuga Libera, Spanish double bassist Uxia Martinez Botana invites us to hear Mendelssohn as never before. By placing her instrument at the heart of the string quartet and replacing the traditional cello, she opens up a world of unexpected textures and emotional depth. Her brilliant career as a soloist and as principal double bass of Kremerata Baltica (at just 23) and the Weinberger Kammerorchester makes her the natural instigator of this innovative ensemble. Together with three exceptional musicians, she reshapes the balance of the ensemble with subtlety and imagination while remaining faithful to the spirit of the music. From the warmth of Mendelssohn's joyful moments to the raw power of his grief, the double bass becomes both foundation and voice. This is not only a tribute to a great composer, it is also an artistic statement, offering a fresh lens on this beloved repertoire, and a moving exploration of how tradition can evolve without losing it's soul.

Inspired by the spirit of Bach, Karl-Andreas Kolly explores traces of Bach in Mendelssohn's piano works and discovers Mendelssohn's deep connection with Bach in his Organ Sonatas, which through Kolly's transcriptions of astonishingly pianistic effect show the great composer in a completely new light.

Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 2; Symphony No. 1 - Mendelssohn's first symphonic work scored for full orchestra, the Symphony Op.11 in C minor, paved the way for even greater examples of the genre he was soon to produce. The concert overture Die sch�ne Melusine and the sparkling Piano Concerto No.2 rely on the type of orchestration and harmonic language that are best served when played on period instruments, as heard here. Devoid of the atmosphere of Romantic doom and gloom, nearly every page of both scores is marked by an exuberant cheerfulness, youthful drive and irrepressible energy in these splendid performances from fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout and the Freiburger Barockorchester led by Pablo Heras-Casado.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

SUMMER CLASSICS - GREATEST HIT

This new album by the award-winning Latvian Radio Choir conducted by Sigvards Klava - recently hailed by the New York Times as 'astonishing', 'superlative' by the BBC Music Magazine, and 'perhaps the finest chorus singing today' by NPR - is focused on the sacred choral works by one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). This recording of the Psalms also includes the world premiere recording of Ehre sei dem Vater published by Carus Verlag in 1997.

Mendelssohn conceived the Violin Concerto in E minor for his childhood friend, Ferdinand David, concertmaster of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, though it took the composer years to perfect it. The concerto remains one of the most significant works in the genre - serene, lyrical and luminous. Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major is another of the 19th century's greatest concertos, written for his favourite student, Iosif Kotek, and a work of great beauty bristling with virtuoso challenges. On this album they are performed by the brilliant Guido Sant'Anna, the first South American violinist to win the prestigious Fritz Kreisler International Competition.

The term 'living legend' is genuinely apt to Martha Argerich, whose dazzling amalgam of virtuosity, insight, eclecticism, generosity and mystery makes her a pianist of unrivalled fascination. Argentinian-born, Viennese-trained, and winner of the 1965 Chopin Competition, she became a sometimes elusive figure whose every appearance and recording aroused eager anticipation. This collection presents Argerich in solo works, concertos and chamber collaborations.

Includes dance(s) by Manuel de Falla. Soloist: Gerhard Oppitz.
Includes work(s) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Soloist: Gerhard Oppitz.

Performance: ****/Sound: **** These fine, not-quite-mature symphonies have more in common with each other than with the better-known Scottish and Italian – the Fifth is actually earlier than either. Here they share just the right approach to show them at their strongest: plenty of affection and intelligence, no inflated pretensions or hyped-up excitement, just good traditional polished German playing. The spacious, resonant sound and warmly shaped phrases that open No. 5 amount to a promise amply fulfilled in an unhurried but still fiery Allegro, and through a slow movement like a song without words that briefly thrusts deeper at the end to push the music over into a vigorous finale, moving urgently forward so that the eventual chorale is a real arrival rather than a formality. No. 1 swings between an evident devotion to Mozart’s great G minor Symphony and touches of high originality: the dramatic false alarms that bring the first movement to an unexpectedly intense climax, the tense hush as Trio reverts to Minuet (or rather not-quite-Scherzo), the plucked chords that stalk around the finale’s solo clarinet tune. Vitality without haste is again the performance’s chief joy.

-- Robert Maycock, BBC Music Magazine

MENDELSSOHN: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT