Mendelssohn: Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op.81 – 2. Scherzo

 

#EmersonStringQuartet

Published on Nov 8, 2014

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group North America

Mendelssohn: Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op.81 – 2. Scherzo · Emerson String Quartet

℗ 2005 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg

Composer: Mendelssohn

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  • “Mendelssohn: Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op.81 – 2. Scherzo” by Emerson String Quartet (Google Play • iTunes • AmazonMP3)

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Historic Musical Bits: , Mendelssohn:, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Berliner Philharmoniker conductor: Ferenc Fricsay) Rita Streich & Diana Eustrati (1950)

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Ferenc Fricsay) Rita Streich & Diana Eustrati

Muzikazaile

Published on Aug 10, 2013

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1874)

Ein Sommernachtstraum, op. 21 & op. 61
Musik zu Shakespeares Schauspiel
(A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Le Songe d’une nuit d’été

Ouverture, op 21: Allegro di molto
Zwischenaktmusik op. 61
1. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
2. L’istesso tempo
[Elfenmarsch]: Allegro vivace (Marche des fées / March of the Fairies)
3. Lied mit Chor: Allegro ma non trppo (Song with chorus): “Bunte Schlangen, zweigezüngt”
5. [Intermezzo:] Allegro appassionato
7. Nocturne:] Con molto tranquillo
9. Hochzeitsmarsch: Allegro vivace (Wedding March . Marche nuptiale)
11. Ein Tanz von Rïpeln: Allegro di molto (A dance of Clowns . Danse declowns)
13. Finale: Allegro di molto

Rita Streich, soprano
Diana Eustrati, contralto
RIAS Kammerchor
Berliner Philharmoniker
Conducted by Ferenc Fricsay
1950
_

• Music

  • “A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61: I. Overture – Allegro di molto” by Rita Streich, Diana Eustrati, The Berlin Philarmonic Orchestra (Google Play • iTunes • AmazonMP3 • eMusic)

 

great compositions/performances: Claudio Abbado “Overture “The Fair Melusina” Mendelssohn

Claudio Abbado “Overture “The Fair Melusina” Mendelssohn

Addiobelpassato

Published on Jan 26, 2014

Overture “Zum Märchen von der schönen Melusine“,
op 32 by Felix Mendelssohn
London Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado, conductor

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  • “”Mendelssohn: Overture “”The Fair Melusine””, MWV P12, Op.32 – Allegro con moto”” by Claudio Abbado and London Symphony Orchestra (AmazonMP3)

Mendelssohn / String Symphony No. 7 in D minor,Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicolas Ward, great compositions/performances

Mendelssohn / String Symphony No. 7 in D minor

scrymgeour34

Published on Apr 20, 2012/31,838 views

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

String Symphony No. 7 in D minor (1821)

00:00 – Allegro
05:31 – Andante (amorevole)
11:03 – Menuetto
14:51 – Allegro molto

Performed by the Northern Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Nicholas Ward.

“The String Symphony No. 7 in D minor opens with a strongly marked rhythmic figure, followed by gently resolving suspensions. The opening subject lends itself to dramatic contrapuntal treatment, in a musical idiom that has now become Mendelssohn’s own. The second movement is tenderly moving in its antiphonal use of instrumental groups. There is an energetic Minuet and a contrasting Trio, with an imitative opening. There is dramatic tension in the start of the rapid final Allegro molto, which finds a necessary and appropriate place for contrapuntal episodes.” – Keith Anderson

Painting: Portrait of a Girl with Gun and Hound (in the style of Joshua Reynolds), 18th-19th cen.

The return of the past – THE LP: The Fine Arts Quartet: Courtly Music of Mendelssohn (4/6: Four Pieces for String Quartet, op. 81) , great compositions/performance s

The Fine Arts Quartet: Courtly Music of Mendelssohn (4/6: Four Pieces for String Quartet, op. 81)

VinylRecordSound

Published on Jun 27, 2013

COURTLY MUSIC OF MENDELSSOHN

3 LP BOX SET
“CONCERT DISC” Label – Catalogue number CS-505

Video 4/6: Four Pieces for String Quartet, op. 81
(Recorded in 1965)

I. Tema con Variazioni: Andante sostenuto (at 0:10)
II. Scherzo: Allegro Leggiero (at 6:36)
III. Capriccio: Andante con moto (at 10:04)
IV. Fuga: A tempo ordinario (at 15:37)

THE FINE ARTS QUARTET

Leonard Sorkin, violin
Abram Loft, violin
Gerald Stanick, viola
George Sopkin, cello

 

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Bach – Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, great compositions/performances

Bach – Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565

MovieMongerHZ

Uploaded on Oct 5, 2010/3,887,444

I don’t know who performed this, but it’s by far the best recording I’ve ever heard!! Enjoy!!
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 Fragment of the first page of BWV 565 in Johannes Ringk‘s handwriting. Bach’s autograph does not survive, and this is the only known near-contemporary source.

The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach. First published in 1833 through the efforts of Felix Mendelssohn, the piece quickly became popular, and is now one of the most famous works in the organ repertoire. Since the 1970s, some scholars have challenged the attribution of the piece to Bach.

History

As with most Bach organ works, no autograph manuscript of BWV 565 survives. The only near-contemporary source is an undated copy by Johannes Ringk, a pupil of Johann Peter Kellner. Several compositions by him^{[clarification needed]} survive, and he is also notable today for his copies of numerous keyboard works by Georg Böhm, Johann Pachelbel, Johann Heinrich Buttstett, Dieterich Buxtehude, and other important masters.^[1]

The title of the piece is given in Ringk’s manuscript as Toccata Con Fuga. It is most probably a later addition, similar to the title of Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, BWV 564, because in the Baroque era such organ pieces would most commonly be called simply Prelude (Praeludium, etc.) or Prelude and Fugue.^[2] Ringk’s copy abounds in Italian tempo markings, fermatas (a characteristic feature of Ringk’s copies) and staccato dots, all very unusual features for pre–1740 German music. All later manuscript copies that are known today originate directly or indirectly with Ringk’s.^[1]

BWV 565 exhibits a typical simplified north German structure with a free opening (toccata), a fugal section (fugue), and a short free closing section. The connection to the north German organ school was noted early by Bach biographer Philipp Spitta in 1873.^[3] However, the numerous recitative stretches are rarely found in the works of northern composers and may have been inspired by Johann Heinrich Buttstett,^[4] whose few surviving free works, particularly his Prelude and Capriccio in D minor, exhibit similar features. A passage in the fugue of BWV 565 is an exact copy of a phrase in one of Johann Pachelbel‘s D minor fantasias, and the first half of the subject is based on this Pachelbel passage as well.^[5] It was common practice at the time to create fugues on other composers’ themes, and a number of such pieces by Bach are known (BWV 574, 579, 950, etc.); moreover, the bass pattern of the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582, is borrowed from André Raison‘s organ passacaglia, also using only the first half of Raison’s passage (just the way BWV 565 borrows from Pachelbel).

The work was first published by Breitkopf & Härtel in late 1833 as part of a collection of Bach’s organ works. The edition was conceived and partly prepared by Felix Mendelssohn, who had BWV 565 in his repertoire already by 1830.^[6] Mendelssohn’s opinion of the piece, expressed in one of his letters, was that it was “at the same time learned and something for the [common] people.”^[7] The first major public performance was also by Mendelssohn, on 6 August 1840 in Leipzig. The concert was very well received by the critics, among them Robert Schumann.^[8] Later in the 19th century, Franz Liszt adopted the piece into his organ repertoire, and a piano transcription was made by Liszt’s pupil Carl Tausig, which gained substantial fame. Another popular transcription was completed in 1899 by Ferruccio Busoni. In the 20th century, an orchestral version of the piece, created by Leopold Stokowski, popularized the work further when it was included in Walt Disney‘s film Fantasia, released in 1940.^[9]

The work’s famous opening drew attention and praise already from Schumann, who, however, admired it as an example of Bach’s sense of humor.^[10] In the 20th century the work was generally viewed very differently, as a bold and dramatic piece. Musicologist Hermann Keller, writing in 1948, described the opening bars’ unison passages as “descending like a lightning flash, the long roll of thunder of the broken chords of the full organ, and the stormy undulation of the triplets.”^[11] A similar view has been expressed by noted Bach scholar and former director of Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Hans-Joachim Schulze:

“Here is elemental and unbounded power, in impatiently ascending and descending runs and rolling masses of chords, that only with difficulty abates sufficiently to give place to the logic and balance of the fugue. With the reprise of the initial Toccata, the dramatic idea reaches its culmination amidst flying scales and with an ending of great sonority.^[12]”

Writing in 2005, organist and Bach scholar Hans Fagius commented that while the authorship issue may remain unresolved, the enduring popularity of the work is not difficult to understand, since there is “a fantastic drive and energy to the piece that simply make it irresistible.”^[13]

In popular culture

The Toccata has been used in a variety of popular media ranging from film, video games, to rock music, and ringtones.

It is used for the opening credits of the 1931 film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.^[40]

In 1960 Federico Fellini featured the track in his movie La Dolce Vita, being played by a character at a church organ.

The 1962 film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera by Hammer Productions featured the piece, and since then, the movie has helped to associate the music with horror movies, Halloween, and the like in popular culture.^[41]

The jazz/R&B group Brass Fever featured an arrangement of the composition on their self-titled 1975 album as “Bach Bone”.

Jon Lord of Deep Purple fame recorded a composition called “Bach onto this”, which is based on BWV 565. It appears on his 1982 album Before I Forget.

English progressive rock band Egg covered the piece for their 1970 debut album.

Dutch progressive/symphonic rock band Ekseption covered the piece for their 1973 album Trinity.

The English classical/rock fusion band Sky (featuring the classical guitarist John Williams and classical percussionist Tristan Fry) scored a Top 10 pop hit with their 1980 arrangement of the Toccata section of BWV 565. This version crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, charting at #83.^[42]

Vanessa-Mae recorded a cover of this piece. It reached number 24 on the Billboard charts.^[43]

The track is used for the opening credits and final freeze-frame of the 1975 film Rollerball.

In Walt Disney’s 1940 film, Fantasia, it is used as the first piece of the film, transcribed for full symphony orchestra by the conducter, Leopold Stokowski. The Disney animators were given an abstract theme to create the image to the music.^[44]

 

 

 

 

Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat, Opus 20

United States Marine Band

Published on Jul 28, 2014

Members of the Marine Chamber Orchestra performed Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat, Opus 20 on May 4, 2014, at the Marine Barracks Annex in Washington, D.C.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Felix Mendelssohn‘s Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20, was composed in the autumn of 1825 and completed on October 15,^[1] when the composer was 16. He wrote it as a birthday gift for his friend and violin teacher Eduard Ritz (1802-1832); it was slightly revised in 1832 before the first public performance on 30 January 1836 at the Leipzig Gewandhaus.^[2] Conrad Wilson summarizes much of its reception ever since: “Its youthful verve, brilliance and perfection make it one of the miracles of nineteenth-century music.”^[3]

The work comprises four movements:

1. Allegro moderato ma con fuoco
2. Andante
3. Scherzo
4. Presto

A typical performance of the work lasts around thirty minutes, with the first movement usually comprising roughly half of this.

The scherzo, later scored for orchestra as a replacement for the minuet in the composer’s First Symphony at its premiere, is believed to have been inspired by a section of Goethe’s Faust entitled “Walpurgis Night’s Dream.”^[4] Fragments of this movement recur in the finale, as a precursor to the “cyclic” technique employed by later 19th-century composers. The entire work is also notable for its extended use of counterpoint, with the finale, in particular, beginning with an eight-part fugato.

The work has been compared to Louis Spohr‘s 1823 Double Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 65.^[5]

Instrumentation

The original score is for a double string quartet with 4 violins and pairs of violas and cellos. Mendelssohn instructed in the public score, “This Octet must be played by all the instruments in symphonic orchestral style. Pianos and fortes must be strictly observed and more strongly emphasized than is usual in pieces of this character.”^[2]

The piece is sometimes played by full string sections using multiple players for each part as well as an added double bass part which usually (but not always) doubles the 2nd cello part below the octave. For example, Arturo Toscanini created such a version for a performance with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1947. More recently in 2009, conductor Yoon Jae Lee made a transcription of the first, second, and last movements for full orchestra.^[6]

The composer also arranged the piece as a piano duet and orchestrated the 3rd movement Scherzo (with compositional alterations) as an alternate 3rd movement to his Symphony No. 1 in C minor.

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Piano Trio No 1 D Minor Op. 49: make music part of your life series

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Piano Trio No 1 D Minor Op. 49

  Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik, L.

Published on Dec 27, 2013

Anne-Sophie Mutter – Violin
Andre Previn – Piano
Lynn Harrell – Cello
at Brahms Hall – Musikverein Vienna

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Felix Mendelssohn‘s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 was completed on 23 September 1839 and published the following year. The work is scored for a standard piano trio consisting of violin, cello and piano. The trio is one of Mendelssohn’s most popular chamber works and is recognized as one of his greatest along with his Octet, Op. 20.

During the initial composition of the work, Mendelssohn took the advice of a fellow composer, Ferdinand Hiller, and revised the piano part. The revised version was in a more romantic, Schumannesque style with the piano given a more important role in the trio. Indeed, the revised piece was reviewed by Schumann who declared Mendelssohn to be “the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the most illuminating of musicians.”

Movements

The trio has four movements:

1. Molto allegro ed agitato (D minor)
2. Andante con moto tranquillo (B-flat major)
3. Scherzo: Leggiero e vivace (D major)
4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato (D minor, ending in D major)

A typical performance lasts just under 30 minutes.

Molto allegro ed agitato

The first movement is in sonata form and begins without an introduction with a cantabile main theme played by the cello, with the piano providing a syncopated accompaniment. The violin then joins the cello with a distorted version of the theme. Further variations of the main theme fill the transition to the second theme, also introduced by the cello, which is in A major. Mendelssohn combines both themes in the development, which is predominately in D minor, the key in which the movement also ends. In the recapitulation, Mendelssohn adds a violin counter-melody to support the return of the original theme.

Andante con moto tranquillo

The piano introduces the second movement, with the eight bar melody in the right hand and the accompaniment divided between the hands, as in a number of Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words. Below this, the bass line in the piano moves methodically, carefully balancing with the accompaniment and the melody. After the piano plays the main theme, the violin repeats it with a counterpoint played on the cello.

Scherzo

The short and light scherzo is essentially in sonata form. As in the second movement, the main theme is first played on the piano, which then reduces itself to fragmentary accompaniment almost immediately. A rhythmical motif of the main theme is present throughout the movement, except in the more lyrical central section, whose theme resembles material from the first movement.

Finale

After Hiller gave Mendelssohn his advice, the finale was the most revised movement and unsurprisingly has a busy piano part. Various keyboard techniques are called upon in the movement, from close chords to sweeping arpeggios and chromatic octaves. The cantabile moments provide a refreshing contrast. The trio finishes with the shift to D major shortly before the end.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdi – Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1/Nathalie Stutzmann,: Great compositions/performances

Mendelssohn – Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op.11/ Nathalie Stutzmann

Nathalie Stutzmann

Published on Mar 17, 2014

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Symphony N°1 in C minor / Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor · OSESP Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo / Recorded at Sala São Paulo, Brazil, 21 November 2013.

The symphony is in four movements:

1. Allegro di molto (C minor, 4/4, sonata form)
2. Andante (E-flat major, 3/4)
3. Menuetto: Allegro molto (C minor, 6/4, ternary form, trio in A-flat major and then in C minor)
4. Allegro con fuoco (C minor, 4/4, sonata form, ending in C major)

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Nathalie Stutzmann talking about conducting Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLs7C…

Website of Nathalie Stutzmann:
http://www.nathaliestutzmann.com

Facebook page of Nathalie Stutzmann:
https://www.facebook.com/Nathalie.Stu…

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 11, is a work by Felix Mendelssohn, which was completed on March 31, 1824, when the composer was only 15 years old. However, the autographed score was not published until 1831. The symphony was dedicated to the Royal Philharmonic Society, who performed the London première on May 25, 1829, with Mendelssohn conducting.^[1] For this performance Mendelssohn orchestrated the scherzo from his Octet Op. 20 as an alternative third movement for the symphony. The work was premièred at a private gathering on 14 November 1824 to honor his sister Fanny Mendelssohn‘s 19th birthday. Its public première occurred on 1 February 1827, with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra performing under the leadership of its then-Kapellmeister Johann Philipp Christian Schulz. A typical performance lasts half an hour.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B♭, two bassoons, two horns in E♭ and/or C, two trumpets in C, timpani in C, G, and strings.

Movements

The symphony is in four movements:

1. Allegro di molto (C minor, 4/4, sonata form)
2. Andante (E-flat major, 3/4)
3. Menuetto: Allegro molto (C minor, 6/4, ternary form, trio in A-flat major and then in C minor)
4. Allegro con fuoco (C minor, 4/4, sonata form, ending in C major)

Arrangements

An arrangement for piano duet, violin and cello exists, and has been recorded by the Duo Tal & Groethuysen.

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Mendelssohn — Violin Concerto in e minor op 64: GREAT COMPOSITIONS/PERFORMANCES

Mendelssohn — Violin Concerto in E minor op. 64

Kanaal van viool7

***Isaac Stern: violin
***Philadelphia Orchestra – Eugene Ormandy: conductor-1958
(The second recording of this concerto by Stern and Ormandy)
1. Allegro molto appassionato
2. Andante
3. Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace

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Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture Op.21 by Masur, LGO (1997)

  lyricpost

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture Op.21

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Kurt Masur, Conductor

Live at Gewandhaus, Leipzig

Reupload from Lyricholic’s Channel
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At separate times, Felix Mendelssohn composed music for William Shakespeare‘s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 1826, near the start of his career, Mendelssohn wrote a concert overture (Op. 21). In 1842, only a few years before his death, he wrote incidental music (Op. 61) for a production of the play, into which he incorporated the existing Overture. The incidental music includes the world-famous Wedding March. The German title reads Ein Sommernachtstraum.

Overture

The Overture in E major, Op. 21, was written by Mendelssohn at 17 years and 6 months old (it was finished on 6 August 1826),^[1] and George Grove called it “the greatest marvel of early maturity that the world has ever seen in music”.^[2] It was written as a concert overture, not associated with any performance of the play. The Overture was written after Mendelssohn had read a German translation of the play in 1826. The translation was by August Wilhelm Schlegel, with help from Ludwig Tieck. There was a family connection as well: Schlegel’s brother Friedrich married Felix Mendelssohn’s aunt Dorothea.^[3]

While a romantic piece in atmosphere, the Overture incorporates many classical elements, being cast in sonata form and shaped by regular phrasings and harmonic transitions. The piece is also noted for its striking instrumental effects, such as the emulation of scampering ‘fairy feet’ at the beginning and the braying of Bottom as an ass (effects which were influenced by the aesthetic ideas and suggestions of Mendelssohn’s friend at the time, Adolf Bernhard Marx). Heinrich Eduard Jacob, in his biography of the composer, said that Mendelssohn had scribbled the chords after hearing an evening breeze rustle the leaves in the garden of the family’s home.^[3]

Following the first theme in the parallel relative minor (E minor) representing the dancing fairies, a transition (the royal music of the court of Athens) leads to a second theme, that of the lovers. A final group of themes, suggesting the craftsmen and hunting calls, closes the exposition. The fairies dominate most of the development section and ultimately have the final word in the coda, just as in Shakespeare’s play.

The Overture was premiered in Stettin (then in Prussia; now Szczecin, Poland) on 20 February 1827,^[4] at a concert conducted by Carl Loewe. Mendelssohn had turned 18 just over two weeks earlier. He had to travel 80 miles through a raging snowstorm to get to the concert,^[5] which was his first public appearance. Loewe and Mendelssohn also appeared as soloists in Mendelssohn’s Concerto in A-flat major for 2 pianos and orchestra, and Mendelssohn alone was the soloist for Carl Maria von Weber‘s Konzertstück in F minor. After the intermission, he joined the first violins for a performance of Beethoven‘s Ninth Symphony.

The first British performance of the Overture was conducted by Mendelssohn himself, on 24 June 1829, at the Argyll Rooms in London, at a concert in benefit of the victims of the floods in Silesia, and played by an orchestra that had been assembled byMendelssohn’s friend Sir George Smart.^[4]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>MORE HERE

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Felix Mendelssohn-Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25: great compositions/performances

Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor,  Op. 25:

1. Molto allegro con fuoco in G minor
2. Andante in E major
3. Presto—Molto allegro e vivace in G major

Kanaal van viool7

Rudolf Serkin piano-Philadelphia Orchestra,
Eugene Ormandy: conductor-1959
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mendelssohn‘s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor (op. 25) was written in 1830–31, around the same time as his fourth symphony (“Italian”), and premiered in Munich in October 1831. This concerto was composed during a travel in Italy after the composer met a pianist in Munich.

He had already written a piano concerto in A minor with string accompaniment (1822) and two concertos with two pianos (1823–24).

Structure

The three connected movements use several relatively new formal techniques in their brief span — for example, the piano enters very soon after the opening of the first movement, with little of an orchestral tutti to contrast with.^[1] The concerto quickly obtained popularity, and contains many sections of improvisation, one of Mendelssohn’s specialities; it is scored for strings, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, and timpani.

1. Molto allegro con fuoco in G minor
2. Andante in E major
3. Presto—Molto allegro e vivace in G major

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Mendelssohn-Piano Concerto No. 1 in g minor Op. 25, Rudolf Serkin/Philadelphia Orchestra- Eugene Ormandy: great compositions/perfornmances

Mendelssohn-Piano Concerto No. 1 in g minor Op. 25

  Kanaal van viool7

(Rudolf Serkin piano-Philadelphia Orchestra-Eugene Ormandy: conductor-1959)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mendelssohn‘s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor (op. 25) was written in 1830–31, around the same time as his fourth symphony (“Italian”), and premiered in Munich in October 1831. This concerto was composed during a travel in Italy after the composer met a pianist in Munich.He had already written a piano concerto in A minor with string accompaniment (1822) and two concertos with two pianos (1823–24).

Structure

The three connected movements use several relatively new formal techniques in their brief span — for example, the piano enters very soon after the opening of the first movement, with little of an orchestral tutti to contrast with.^[1] The concerto quickly obtained popularity, and contains many sections of improvisation, one of Mendelssohn’s specialities; it is scored for strings, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, and timpani.

1. Molto allegro con fuoco in G minor
2. Andante in E major
3. Presto—Molto allegro e vivace in G major

Molto allegro con fuoco

The piano enters after only a few bars of orchestral introduction. It was standard procedure in the classical-era concerto to precede the solo’s entrance by a tutti, for various reasons – the length and purpose of these introductions differed, some offering a hint of what was to follow and some giving out almost all the movement’s material, but none was so brief as this: in this sense, this was one of the first concertos of the Romantic age. (The obvious exceptions – Mozart’s Jeunehomme concerto and Beethoven’s fourth and fifth piano concertos – allowed the piano to enter very briefly just at the start, but then proceeded as usual, the soloist silent.) The rest of the movement is fairly typical of concertos in its use of a modified sonata form, with a second, contrasting lyrical theme first heard from the piano over repeated accompaniment, and later on wind. As the movement closes a transition takes the movement not to a full close, but instead, with a brass fanfare and a piano continuation of the same, to the border of the Andante.

Andante

This opens with a melody in the lower strings, in E major, soon taken up by the piano. This is drawn out with breadth, and a middle section in C provides contrast. The original melody, somewhat varied, returns to close the movement.

Presto—Molto allegro e vivace

This opens with a fanfare in A minor (Presto). The piano joins in, at which point the mood lightens, and the closing rondo – Molto allegro e vivace – begins. This is regular in form, and the returns of the refrain are varied. Several themes from the first movement return towards the finale.

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Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No.3 – Blomstedt/RCO(2008Live): Great compositions/performances

Mendelssohn: Symphony No.3 – Blomstedt/RCO(2008Live)

  Magisch meisje Orkest

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Symphony No.3 in A minor, op.56 “Schottische“
Herbert Blomstedt
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, 17 10/2008
*************************************************

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, known as the Scottish, is a symphony by Felix Mendelssohn, composed between 1829 and 1842.

Form

It is in four movements, marked as follows:

1.  Andante con moto — Allegro un poco agitato
2.  Vivace non troppo (in F major)
3.  Adagio (in A major)
4.  Allegro vivacissimo — Allegro maestoso assai (A minor → A major)

The emotional scope of the work is wide, consisting of a grand first movement, a joyous and fairly brief second movement, a slow movement maintaining an apparent struggle between love and fate, and a finale that takes its components from Scottish folk dance. The lively second movement is melodically and rhythmically in the style of Scottish folk music, although no direct quotations have been identified. A peculiarity lies in the coda of the finale, where Mendelssohn introduces a complete new German majestic theme to close the work in a completely different manner from the rest of the finale.

History

Mendelssohn claimed to have been inspired to write the symphony during his first visit to Britain in 1829.^[1][2][3] After a series of successful performances in London, Mendelssohn embarked on a walking tour of Scotland with companion Karl Klingemann.^[3] On 30 July, Mendelssohn visited the ruins of a chapel at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, where he had his initial idea for the piece.^[1][2] He described the experience in a letter, in which he included a draft of the symphony’s opening theme.^[3] Mendelssohn and his companion later visited Staffa, which inspired the composer to write the Hebrides, a task which occupied him until its completion in 1830.^[3]

After completing the Hebrides, Mendelssohn continued to work on his initial sketches of what would become Symphony No. 3 while touring Italy.^[3] However, he struggled to make progress, and after 1831 set the piece aside.^[3]

Mendelssohn returned to the symphony in 1841 and completed it in Berlin on 20 January 1842.^[2][4] Although it was the fifth and final of Mendelssohn’s symphonies to be completed, it was the third to be published, and has subsequently been known as Symphony No. 3.^[3]

Premiere

The premiere took place on 3 March 1842 in Leipzig.
*******************************************************************

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Felix Mendelssohn – Piano Concerto in A Minor (13 year old Mendelssohn): make music part of your life series

Felix Mendelssohn – Piano Concerto in A Minor (13 year old Mendelssohn)

   bartje11

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (German born, and generally known in English-speaking countries, as Felix Mendelssohn (3 February 1809 — 4 November 1847) was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period.

Piano Concerto in A Minor (1822):

1. Allegro
2. Adagio (13:32)
3. Finale: Allegro ma non troppo (22:10)

Cyprien Katsarsis piano and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra conducted by Janos Rolla

paintings and drawings by Felix Mendelssohn (except his images and his wife’s)

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Mendelssohn / String Symphony No. 2 in D major: make music part of your life series

Mendelssohn / String Symphony No. 2 in D major

  scrymgeour34

String Symphony No. 2 in D major (1821) Movements:

00:00 – Allegro
04:04 – Andante
08:13 – Allegro vivace

(Performed by the Northern Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Nicholas Ward.)

“Mendelssohn wrote his twelve String Symphonies between 1821 and 1823. The first seven were all composed in 1821, with the eighth a year later, dated 27th November 1822, and the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth, completed in March, May, July and September 1823 respectively. A thirteenth symphony, started in December that year, was replaced by a fully orchestrated work, to become his Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 11. The string symphonies were written when Mendelssohn was a pupil of Zelter and reflect the inclinations of the teacher and Mendelssohn’s own clear debt to earlier classical models, with an increasing interest in the contrapuntal practices of Bach and Handel. This last is evident in the minor key Andante of the String Symphony No. 2 in D major, with its exploration of contrasting string textures, with a more classical use of imitative counterpoint in the final Allegro vivace.” – Keith Anderson

Drawing: Boy Copying the Head of a Roman Emperor, Michael Sweerts

 

 

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Mendelssohn – String Quartet No. 1, Op. 12: make music part of your life series

Mendelssohn – String Quartet No. 1, Op. 12

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartoldy

String Quartet No.1, Op.12 (1829)

1. Adagio non troppo – Allegro non tardante
2. Canzonetta – Allegretto (7:42)
3. Andante espressivo (11:48)
4. Molto allegro e vivace (15:23)

Melos Quartet

Editor:
Julius Rietz (1812–1877)

Publisher Info.:
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdys Werke, Serie 6.
Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1875. Plate M.B. 22.

Reprinted:
Mineola: Dover Publications

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make music part of your life sereis: Felix Mendelssohn – Piano Concerto in A Minor (13 year old Mendelssohn)

[youtube.com/watch?v=k3ZQ-nWHy_8]

Felix Mendelssohn – Piano Concerto in A Minor (13 year old Mendelssohn)

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (German born, and generally known in English-speaking countries, as Felix Mendelssohn (3 February 1809 — 4 November 1847) was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period.

Piano Concerto in A Minor (1822)

1. Allegro
2. Adagio (13:32)
3. Finale: Allegro ma non troppo (22:10)

***Cyprien Katsarsis piano and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra conducted by Janos Rolla

***Paintings and drawings by Felix Mendelssohn (except his images and his wife’s)

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MAKE MUSIC PART OF YOUR LIFE SERIES: Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No 5 D major minor ‘Reformation’ S. Baudo OSI

[youtube.com/watch?v=cbI1HEurX-c]

Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No 5 D major minor ‘Reformation’ S. Baudo OSI

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Portrait of Mendelssohn by James Warren Childe, 1839

The Symphony No. 5 in D major/D minor, Op. 107, known as the Reformation, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. The Confession is a key document of Lutheranism and its Presentation to Emperor Charles V in June 1530 was a momentous event of the Protestant Reformation. This symphony was written for a full orchestra and was Mendelssohn’s second extended symphony. It was not published until 1868, 21 years after the composer’s death – hence its numbering as ‘5’. Although the symphony is not very frequently performed, it is better known today than it was during Mendelssohn’s lifetime.

Key

The key of the symphony is stated as D major on the title page of Mendelssohn’s autograph score. However, only the slow introduction is written in D Major, whereas the main theme and the cadence setting of the first movement are in D minor. The composer himself referred to the symphony on at least one occasion as in D minor.^[5]

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, “serpente” (possibly a serpent^[6]) and contrabassoon (fourth movement only, now usually played on the contrabassoon alone), 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani and strings.

Form

The symphony is in four movements:

1. Andante — Allegro con fuoco
2. Allegro vivace
3. Andante
4. Andante con moto — Allegro maestoso

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Great Compositions/Performances: Mendelssohn / Frank Pelleg, 1954: Quartet in B minor for Piano and Strings, Op. 3

[youtube.com/watch?v=dSP9m_FK80o]

Mendelssohn / Frank Pelleg, 1954: Quartet in B minor for Piano and Strings, Op. 3

Frank Pelleg (1910-1968) is joined by Peter Rybar (1913-2002, violin), Heinz Wigand (viola), and Antonio Tusa (cello) — all members of the Winterthur String Quartet — in this 1954 recording of the first movement of the Mendelssohn piano quartet in B minor, Op. 3. I created this video from the LP depicted above, issued on the Concert Hall Society label, serial number E4KP 1420, Concert Hall release H-5.

Movement 1: Allegro molto
Movement 2: Andante
Movement 3: Allegro molto
Movement 4: Finale – Allegro vivace

(Note: Late last year I had uploaded this performance in four separate segments.)

—————————————-­————-
More from Mendelssohn:

Arthur Grumiaux, 1974: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 – Complete – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LURD7h…

Mendelssohn / Igor Oistrakh: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 – Movement 1, early 1950s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igqdql…
—————————————-­————-

Details about this LP are available at the Library of Congress website here: http://lccn.loc.gov/r54000657

More information about Pelleg here: http://www.doremi.com/pelleg.html

Rybar’s obituary is available for review here:http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2002/o…

Great Compositions/Performances: “Das Märchen von der schönen Melusine”, Concert Overture in F Major, op 32 by Felix Mendelssohn Gewandhausorchester Leipzig Kurt Masur, conductor

Great Compositions/Performances: Kurt Masur “Das Märchen von der schönen Melusine” Mendelssohn
“Das Märchen von der schönen Melusine”, Concert
Overture in F Major, op 32
by Felix Mendelssohn
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Kurt Masur, conductor

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Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy sonata for cello and piano op.58 in D major
1.Allegro assai vivace 0:02
2.Allegretto scherzando 8:48
3.Adagio 13:42
4.Molto allegro e vivace 18:15

Natalia Gutman cello
Viacheslav Poprugin piano

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Make Music Part of Your Life Series: Felix Mendelssohn – Songs without Words – Op.53, No.1

Felix Mendelssohn – Songs without Words – Op.53, No.1
András Schiff
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• Artist
  Daniel Barenboim

Mendelssohn aged 12 (1821) by Carl Joseph Begas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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Fabulous Performances: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a play by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and Hippolyta. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors, who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. The play, categorized as a Comedy, is one of Shakespeare’s most popular works for the 
stage and is widely performed across the world. [Wikipedia]

In 1826, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) composed a concert overture, inspired by the play, that was first performed in 1827. In 1842, partly because of the fame of the overture, and partly because his employer King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia liked the incidental music that Mendelssohn had written for other plays that had been staged at the palace in German translation, Mendelssohn was commissioned to write incidental music for a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” that was to be staged in 1843 in Potsdam. He incorporated the existing Overture into the incidental music, which was used in most stage versions through the 19th century. The best known of the pieces from the incidental music is the famous “Wedding March”, frequently used as a recessional in weddings. [Wikipedia]

(00:00) (01) Overture op.21 and Incidental Music op.61
(11:47) (02) No. 1 Scherzo (Act II, scene 1)
(16:32) (03) No. 2
(18:21) (04) —– March of the Fairies
(19:59) (05) No. 3 (Act II, scene 2) Song with Chorus
(24:44) (06) No. 4
(25:22) (07) No. 5 [Intermezzo]
(29:30) (08) No. 7 (Act III, scene 2) [Nocturne]
(35:50) (09) No. 8 (Act IV, scene 1)
(38:23) (10) No. 9 Wedding March
(43:30) (11) No.10 (Act V, scene 1)
(44:15) (12) —– Marcia Funebre
(45:49) (13) No.11 A Dance of Clowns
(47:54) (14) No.12
(49:34) (15) No.13 Finale

Perfomers:
Judi Dench (narrator),
Kathleen Battle (soprano),
Frederica von Stade (mezzo-soprano)

Orchestra: Boston Symphony, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.
Conductor: Seiji Ozawa.

Great Performances: Felix Mendelssohn – A Midsummer Night’s Dream ARR for piano 4-hands

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809 – 1847)

English description:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Arr for piano 4 Hands

Overture Op.21 from 1826
Incidental music Op.61 from 1842

Artists: Silver Garburg Piano Duo
Arranger: Mendelssohn him self.

Svensk beskrivning:

En midsommarnattsdröm – Arrangerat för 4-händigt piano

Ouveryr Op.21 från 1826
Skådespelsmusiken Op.61 från 1842

Artister: Silver Garburg Piano Duo
Arrangör: Mendelssohn själv

Tracks / Spår:

1. 00:00 Overture / Ouvertyr
2. 11:38 Scherzo
3. 16:03 March of the Elves
4. 17:13 Song with Chorus / Sång med kör: You Spotted Snakes
5. 20:56 Intermezzo
6. 24:21 Notturno
7. 30:52 Wedding march / Bröllopsmarsch
8. 36:19 Feneral march / Sorgmarsch
9. 37:21 The dance of the clowns / Clown-dansen
10. 38:45 Final

Felix Mendelssohn – Six Anthems for eight voices a capella opus 79 – New Year

Maulbronn Chamber Choir
The night shines as the day
Conductor: Jürgen Budday

A concert recording from the church of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery.
Released & created by Andreas Otto Grimminger & Josef-Stefan Kindler
in cooperation with Jürgen Budday.
Juli 2010.

F. Mendelssohn: Sechs Sprüche zum Kirchenjahr.
In durchweg opulenten 8stimmigen Sätzen durchmisst Mendelssohn die Feste des Kirchenjahres vom Advent bis zu Himmelfahrt. Dabei reicht die klangliche Palette je nach Charakter des jeweiligen Festes vom dumpfen Adagio bis hin zum strahlenden, jubelnden Allegro. Inhaltlich repräsentiert insbesondere der Text der Passionszeit das Thema des Konzertes: Die “Übeltaten”, das Elend und die Sünde stehen für die negativen Seiten des Lebens, die durch Christus in der Herrlichkeit Gottes aufgehoben werden.

 

Mendelssohn / Frank Pelleg, 1954: Quartet in B minor for Piano and Strings, Op. 3 – Complete

Frank Pelleg (1910-1968) is joined by Peter Rybar (1913-2002, violin), Heinz Wigand (viola), and Antonio Tusa (cello) — all members of the Winterthur String Quartet — in this 1954 recording of the first movement of the Mendelssohn piano quartet in B minor, Op. 3. I created this video from the LP depicted above, issued on the Concert Hall Society label, serial number E4KP 1420, Concert Hall release H-5.

Movement 1: Allegro molto
Movement 2: Andante
Movement 3: Allegro molto
Movement 4: Finale – Allegro vivace

 

L. Bernstein – Mendelssohn Symphony No.5 in D major/D minor “Reformation” Op.107

Mendelssohn Symphony No.5 in D major/D minor “Reformation” Op.107 Complete

1. Andante — Allegro con fuoco
2. Allegro vivace
3. Andante
4. Andante con moto — Allegro maestoso

NY Philharmonic Orchestra
Leonard Bernstein Conductor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

Portrait of Mendelssohn by James Warren Childe, 1839

The Symphony No. 5 in D major/D minor, Op. 107, called the Reformation Symphony, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. This Confession was a key document of Lutheranism and its Presentation to Emperor Charles V in June 1530 was a momentous event of the Protestant Reformation. The symphony was written for a full orchestra and was the second extended symphony that Mendelssohn had written. It was not published until 1868, 21 years after the composer’s death – hence its numbering as ‘5’. Although the symphony is not very frequently performed, it is better known today than it was during Mendelssohn’s lifetime.

 

Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture – “Fingal’s Cave”

Felix Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides Overture (“Fingal’s Cave”), Op. 26
Berliner Philhamoniker, Herbert von Karajan Conducting

Elegy ( Mendelssohn :Songs without Words,Op.85-4) take 3 : Beautiful – Thank You!

Message in a You Tube: “I’m an amateur player from Japan.
Elegy ( Mendelssohn : Songs without Words,Op.85-4)”

Beautiful Music, thank you kaz63piano!   Arigato!

Mendelssohn-Piano Concerto No. 2 in d minor Op. 40

Rudolf Serkin piano-Columbia Symphony Orchestra-Eugene Ormandy- conductor-1959