Felix Mendelssohn
195 products
Mendelssohn: Complete Piano Music / Jones
Includes work(s) for piano by Felix Mendelssohn. Soloist: Martin Jones.
Mendelssohn: String Symphonies Nos. 7, 9 & 12
Mendelssohn: Double Concerto, Octet / Tognetti, Leschenko, Australian Chamber Orchestra
If I were to pick any holes I would rather like to have heard the Concerto on a period piano instead of the modern concert grand which has a good deal more power than is required for this essentially 18th century music. The thorough notes by Horst A. Scholz tell us that Mendelssohn composed the Concerto for Violin and Piano in May 1823 at the ripe old age of 14. It is less the antecedent of Hummel that one hears than the influence of Carl Philip Emmanuel and even Johann Christian Bach. There is no problem whatever with a young protégé emulating his predecessors when it is done so beautifully. The concerto is a joy to hear providing you do not expect the Mendelssohn of the Violin Concerto in E minor of 1844 or of the mature symphonies. Both soloists play with wonderful accuracy and joie de vivre. The three movement form is absolutely to the classical standard except for the considerable length of the opening Allegro which runs for nearly 18 minutes, a length even Mozart rarely reached.
The real shock is that only two years elapsed before the entirely characteristic Octet for Strings was composed. Here at 16 we have a fully fledged Mendelssohn. Despite the large number of earlier chamber pieces this was his real breakthrough and a complete masterpiece. The form of the double quartet is not unknown, Spohr wrote four but the first of these only predated Mendelssohn's Octet by two years and is far more a work for two string quartets, as the name implies. Mendelssohn composes for a full integrated group of four violins, two violas and two cellos. He even states on the title page that the work must be played 'in the style of a symphony'. Few other pieces like this are in the repertoire even today. The eight strings of the Australian Chamber Orchestra play with finesse and vitality such that they fear no comparisons with the competition, even the most prestigious. There being almost no repertoire for a string octet all performances on record are by groups brought together, or extracted, for the occasion.
Those seeking a recording should consider the present issue very seriously because the coupling is unusual and the whole is better recorded that any other I know.
-- Dave Billinge, MuscWeb International
SURROUND YOURSELF MIDSUMMER
Mendelssohn, Felix: Piano Music
MENDELSSOHN: Flute Concerto in D Minor / Flute Sonatas
Oistrakh Collection, Vol. 9: Mendelssohn Piano Trios
Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Quartets
Mendelssohn: String Quartets Vol 1 / New Zealand Quartet
With their often turbulent and dark-hued openings, poignant slow movements, elfin Scherzos reminiscent of the music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and tense, thrilling last movements of perpetual motion, Mendelssohn’s String Quartets are works of considerable emotional range and mastery of form. This first disc of the complete String Quartets ranges from the youthful No. 1, Op. 12 (actually the second of the published quartets) to the great, tragic String Quartet No. 6, Op. 80, Mendelssohn’s last major work, composed after the death of his sister.
Mendelssohn: Songs for Lena / Baird, de Ryke, Mengelkoch
Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy was the grandson of Felix Mendelssohn. He was also a polymathic intellectual a prestigious jurist, political scientist, and one of Germanys observers to the Treaty of Versailles negotiations in 1919. Conscious of his heritage he also wrote songs, taking texts from Eichendorff, Goethe, Heine and the folk collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn, as had Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. These ardent love songs were inspired by his student Magdalene Lena Schoch who, soon after her graduation, became the composers indispensable and trusted colleague and confidante. Through songs Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy was able to reveal and profess his true sentiments, in a form seemingly acceptable to his family. And by setting to music poets whom Felix and Fanny had chosen earlier (Eichendorff, Goethe, Heine, and the folk song collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn), Albrecht paid tribute to his ancestors while consciously joining the lineage of the Mendelssohn familys musical tradition. Albrechts commitment to the cultural heritage of his hometown is reflected in his frequent choice of lesser\-known poets from Karlsruhe.
A Musical Journey - Italy: A Musical Tour of Tuscany, Umbria
MENDELSSOHN: Midsummer Night's Dream (A) (Pacific Northwest
Mendelssohn: Early Works for Piano & Strings
Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos, Violin Sonata In F Minor / Tianwa Yang
Filled with Mendelssohn’s signature freshness and lightness of touch, the Violin Concerto in D minor and the Sonata, Op 4 are youthful products but written with an assurance which is startling in its maturity. The substantial earlier concerto gives a foretaste of the originality and soaring inspiration which has made the Violin Concerto, Op 64 one of the most enduring works of its age. Acclaimed as “an unquestioned master of the violin” (American Record Guide), Tianwa Yang has quickly established herself as a leading international performer and recording artist, with highly acclaimed discs of works by Sarasate, Piazzolla and Wolfgang Rihm.
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Mendelssohn: Elijah / Stanford Robinson, Et Al
“Although seventy-five years old, these mono recordings have been digitally remastered to reveal a thrilling performance of this great dramatic work.” – John Pitt, New Classics
“Full marks... Baillie is superb... Parry Jones makes a real impression. Williams is a magnificent colossus of an Elijah. I’d recommend this retrieval with pleasure.” – Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb
“First rate standards of production and repertoire... Astoundingly good quality.” – David Patmore, Classic Record Collector
“Williams is a magnificent prophet... Histrionically exciting and technically accomplished. Baillie is as always fresh-toned with pinpoint attack. The well trained choir is vital and dramatic, as is Robinson’s conducting. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to hear this set.” – John T. Hughes, International Record Review
Mendelssohn: Symphony No 2 /Seifried, Nelson, Cullagh, Et Al
Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos
Mendelssohn: Trio For Violin, Viola And Piano; Sonatas For Viola And Clarinet
Mendelssohn: Piano Works Vol 1 / Benjamin Frith
Mendelssohn, Felix: String Quartets, Vol. 2 - String Quarte
Mendelssohn: Organ Sonatas / Stephen Tharp
American Record Guide (11-12/97, p.156) - "...It is as if a mere reading
of the notes on the page in metronomic precision qualifies as a
performance. The result is enough to make one hate Mendelssohn organ
works..."
Mendelssohn: Works for Piano
Mendelssohn: Piano Trios 1 & 2 / Benvenue Fortepiano Trio
The 200th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn’s birth in 2009 raised the popularity of his music to new heights. This new recording of his beloved Piano Trios is a rarity, performed on period instruments. The Benvenue Fortepiano Trio is lead by the enterprising violinist Monica Huggett, whose numerous recordings for Avie have consistently resulted in critical acclaim and sales success. Her partners here are two of America’s foremost period instrument practitioners, cellist Tanya Tomkins (making her second appearance on Avie) and Eric Zivian playing on an 1841 Viennese fortepiano.
Mendelssohn: Octet; Piano Trio No. 1
SONGS WITH WITHOUT WORDS
Mendelssohn: Works for Organ, Vol. 2
Mendelssohn: Elias
KLAVIERKONZERTE 1 & 2 LSO LON
V 9: CHURCH MUSIC - HERR GOTT,
