BaL 30.05.15 - Mendelssohn: Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

— and if you have ever seen Mendelssohn's private concert hall in his last apartment in Leipzig, then it is obvious that a period piano is far more appropriate.

Do you happen to know what make of piano Mendelssohn had in that apartment, rky?

[rkyburz]

Good to know from your first phrase that it's a decent programme. I agree that recent editions have been less good - reduced to 90 minutes, chat for the first 5 or 10 about the previous week's choice, and chat after each extract (it was better when two extracts were played back-to-back each time, and the reviewers commented about both, comparatively).

Actually, I also think that some of the "experts" really aren't — just giving "out of the stomach" opinions, some obviously can't (and don't) even read / follow a score, and if it weren't for the occasional attendance by one of the members of the old team, the composer's intent (tempo, phrasing, articulation) might easily be ignored. The one advantage of the current series is that the new moderator's pronunciation of artists' names can now be understood by non-French natives...

[Nick Armstrong]

Sorry — I should have started with a spoiler warning!

You could edit your post to add one now ... (Or I could - he said, ever the Helpful Host )

Actually, I also think that some of the "experts" really aren't — just giving "out of the stomach" opinions, some obviously can't (and don't) even read / follow a score, and if it weren't for the occasional attendance by one of the members of the old team, the composer's intent (tempo, phrasing, articulation) might easily be ignored. The one advantage of the current series is that the new moderator's pronunciation of artists' names can now be understood by non-French natives...

Agreed!

(I'll never forget a few years back having to listen over and over to work out that the name just spoken as "Oyn Yom" was in fact Eugen Jochum.... )

[rkyburz]

Do you happen to know what make of piano Mendelssohn had in that apartment, rky?

Sorry, no — I was in that apartment in 2000, but didn't take photos or notes; there is a piano in that largest room but I don't remember whether it's a period instrument or Mendelssohn's own, original instrument (actually, I'm sure it's not, as it is played for visitors), or even just the same manufacturer / type; in general, the apartment is not in the original state at the time of Mendelssohn's death (if there is original furniture at all, it's only a tiny fraction). Furthermore, I'm not even sure whether Mendelssohn was living in that apartment when he wrote op.49 — I was mostly referring to that room / apartment as a typical room / venue for performances of Mendelssohn's chamber music.
Voces Intimae play a fortepiano by Joseph Worel (Vienna, ca. 1829), but given that Mendelssohn was a well-traveled man, I think an Erard from around that time might have been an equally good / suitable choice (more than a Broadwood, IMHO). The liner notes to the Voces Intimae CD claim that the Worel instrument is "a Viennese pianoforte with which Mendelssohn would have been familiar ..."

[MickyD]

Have you heard the version recorded by The Benvenue Piano Trio (Avie)? The fortepiano used is by Franz Rausch, and was built in Vienna in 1841, just a year after the first performance of the trio. It works very well, to my ears anyway.

[rkyburz]

Have you heard the version recorded by The Benvenue Piano Trio (Avie)? The fortepiano used is by Franz Rausch, and was built in Vienna in 1841, just a year after the first performance of the trio. It works very well, to my ears anyway.

Sorry, MickyD, I only have 3 recordings (Rubinstein 1950, Wanderer, and Voces Intimae), two of which I acquired in preparation for a concert (with Yuja Wang) that I reviewed last year. But using a period piano (or a good replica) already gives artists a very good head start in Mendelssohn's music, IMHO (for me as a HIP fanatic anyhow ).

[gurnemanz]

There's a another kind of Mendelssohnian period authenticity on this excellent disc of the complete works for cello and piano. This Strad cello used on the recording is the same instrument as was played at the first performance of the Lied ohne Worte in D Op.109, given in Leipzig in 1845 by the composer and Lise Cristiani, the 18-year-old owner of the cello, whose playing had inspired the composer to write the work.

[MickyD]

And there was also a very nice L'Oiseau Lyre disc of the cello and piano works recorded by Christophe Coin and Patrick Cohen, using a period cello and piano. But fetching a silly price now on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mendelssohn-Sonatas-Cello-Piano-Cohen/dp/B00000134Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1433926784&sr=1-1&keywords=mendelssohn+coin

[MickyD]

PS....I also recommend this HIP disc of the Piano Concerto No.1, the Violin Concerto and the 'Italian' Symphony - played by the Hanover Band. Christopher Kite really knows how to make his 1840 piano sing...the slow movement is absolutely gorgeous. Can be had for a few quid on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mendelssohn-Symphony-Piano-Concerto-Violin/dp/B000024NPM/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1433926870&sr=1-2&keywords=mendelssohn+kite

[vinteuil]

... to be supplemented, of course, by

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00000JHI7

- or even more efficiently, rapport qualité, quantité/prix, by

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001UE283W

[MickyD]

Thanks, Vints...didn't know that the Concerto Koln recordings had been boxed together. I have them already, but this is an excellent bargain. I also have the Hanover Band's String Symphonies on RCA...did you ever get those, too?

[LeMartinPecheur]

Do any of you HIPP Mendelssohnians own a disc of the Trios on the Discover label by the Fortepianotrio Florestan (Dutch musicians by the look of their names IIRC)?

It's on my shelves somewhere and I'm trying to work out if I should expend the effort to find it and give it another spin...