With the release of Mendelssohn's complete catalog, we can delve deeper into his unsung works.
http://www.saw-leipzig.de/forschung/projekte/leipziger-ausgabe-der-werke-von-felix-mendelssohn-bartholdy/thematisch-systematisches-werkverzeichnis (http://www.saw-leipzig.de/forschung/projekte/leipziger-ausgabe-der-werke-von-felix-mendelssohn-bartholdy/thematisch-systematisches-werkverzeichnis)
Some world premieres can be downloaded at:
http://themendelssohnproject.org/ (http://themendelssohnproject.org/)
I recommend these (they're all full of youthful vitality, with beautiful melodic treatment, and a little sturm und drang):
Piano Quartet in d minor (1821)
Piano Trio in c minor (1820, revised 1826)
Violin sonata in d minor (1827)
My question is: does anyone know of a score/recording or any other details available for the 1847 string quartet in E major? The full details are:
1 Allegro vivace in E (frag), R36
these are probably associated:
2 Scherzo in a minor, R35 (Op. 81/2)
3 Andante sostenuto in E, R34 (Op. 81/1)
Brilliant link, thank you.
Wish I could be of help regarding the Quartet, but I'm afraid the latest information I've garnered comes from the Eric Werner biography...
Old guy needs help. I went to the Mendelssohn project site but could not find any downloads. How?
Jerry
Quote from: jerfilm on Sunday 18 December 2011, 04:28
Old guy needs help. I went to the Mendelssohn project site but could not find any downloads. How?
Jerry
You can find the mp3 files under 'Media' on the menu bar.
Cheers,
Balapoel
Recordings of the two op.81 pieces have occurred quite a number of times - actually, I think I know of at least one recording, possibly many, that does combine them with two -earlier- works (not a contemporary 1847 fragment) as 4 pieces for string quartet. That rings more of a bell. Reconstructions with all 3 or more pieces all belonging to the end of Mendelssohn's life including the opus 81 pieces, I haven't heard of or heard recorded. Thanks for the heads-up!
Thanks for the link. I missed these when I looked at that page....
Jerry
Quote from: eschiss1 on Sunday 18 December 2011, 20:57
Recordings of the two op.81 pieces have occurred quite a number of times - actually, I think I know of at least one recording, possibly many, that does combine them with two -earlier- works (not a contemporary 1847 fragment) as 4 pieces for string quartet. That rings more of a bell. Reconstructions with all 3 or more pieces all belonging to the end of Mendelssohn's life including the opus 81 pieces, I haven't heard of or heard recorded. Thanks for the heads-up!
Oh yes, the Op. 81 movements are widely known, but as you say, the other two are not related in any way to the 1847 Quartet in E major:
Capriccio in e minor, Op. 81/3 (1843) R32
Fugue in Eb, Op. 81/4 (1827) R23
There is ripe potential for a number of unknown (or relatively unknown) pieces to be performed/recorded (and some have):
Assai tranquillo in b minor for cello and piano, Q25 (1835)
String duos, R19, R29 (1824, 1838)
17 Fugues for string quartet, R1-R17 (1821)
Viola Sonata in c minor, Q14 (1824)
for orchestra:
Recitativo in d minor for piano and strings, O1 (1820)
Piano Concerto in e minor (no. 3), O13 (1842) - this has been recorded recently, and sounds great, by the way
3 Kindersinfonie (P4, P6, P8) (1827, 1828, 1831)
Symphony in Bb (frag), N17 (1839)
Symphony in C (frag), N19 (1845)
As a great fan of Newbould's reconstructions of Schubert's Symphonies 7, 10, and other frags, I would like to hear the later Mendelssohn efforts.
If the viola sonata you mention is the fine sonata that used to be on a Bayer CD, I second that one. One of the earliest sonatas specifically for viola to be written (though not the earliest published- that would be by Ernest? Naumann, I think- well, it's hard to be sure! The Mendelssohn wasn't published for quite some time.) Then again, I second (third? fourth?... five hundredth?) all the ones in the list that I've heard, and with some less certainty those I haven't, too.
(What I saw Todd's book listed several others but they may have been from slightly later date?)