Mendelssohn

[kernelbogey]

String Quartet in E flat, Op.12 coming to an end on the lunchtime concert as I write.

Do others agree that his string quartets are undervalued and underperformed?

[aeolium]

Yes to undervalued, and yes to underperformed in respect of the op 44 set, although I think the earlier quartets and the F minor op 80 now get quite a lot of performances and broadcasts. It's surprising how many of the well-known ensembles passed these quartets by - the Amadeus (AFAIK), the Endellion, the Lindsays, the Quartetto Italiano, but it's good to see that newer ensembles are performing them, along with other less well-known works in the repertoire.

[Roehre]

String Quartet in E flat, Op.12 coming to an end on the lunchtime concert as I write.

Do others agree that his string quartets are undervalued and underperformed?

Yes. That applies to all seven of them IMO, the "early" (and "late beethovenian") opp.12 and 13 as well as op.44 and the late opp.80 and 81. A bit overshadowed by the octet and the piano trios, and sharing the fate of the string quintets.
Most other chamber music of Mendelssohn's (piano sextet, piano quartets e.g.) are merely youth works, enjoyable, but not in the same league IMO.

[EdgeleyRob]

String Quartet in E flat, Op.12 coming to an end on the lunchtime concert as I write.

Do others agree that his string quartets are undervalued and underperformed?

Not only his string quartets but most of his chamber output.
He didn't only write that great piano trio.
This is wonderful music that deserves if not demands to be heard more often.
Thank heavens for Naxos.

[Roehre]

Not only his string quartets but most of his chamber output.
He didn't only write that great piano trio.
This is wonderful music that deserves if not demands to be heard more often.
Thank heavens for Naxos

Or Brilliant for that matter, having put all the chamber music in one boxed set some ten years or so ago already.

[EdgeleyRob]

Or Brilliant for that matter, having put all the chamber music in one boxed set some ten years or so ago already.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

String Quartet in E flat, Op.12 coming to an end on the lunchtime concert as I write.
Do others agree that his string quartets are undervalued and underperformed?

from me, too. (I also have that BRILLIANT boxed set: excellent performances.)

[Northender]

from me, too. (I also have that BRILLIANT boxed set: excellent performances.)

They are, aren't they? I was listening to one of the cello sonatas just the other evening.

[EdgeleyRob]

They are, aren't they? I was listening to one of the cello sonatas just the other evening.

So underrated the cello sonatas IMVHO.

[Roehre]

So underrated the cello sonatas IMVHO.

Yes, especially the 2nd, though no.1 is not bad at all either

[french frank]

I have the Emersons set on DG, along with their [slightly gimmicky(?)] bonus CD of the Octet - but also very satisfying.

(NP - SQ No 4 in E mi, op 44 no 2)

Mendelssohn, like Brahms, is one of those composers who is denigrated as frequently as he's praised. I love them both!

[kernelbogey]

Mendelssohn, like Brahms, is one of those composers who is denigrated as frequently as he's praised. I love them both!

I've always believed that antisemitism must have played a part in the denigration of Mendelssohn.

[Panjandrum]

Actually no. In recent years his quartets have received their due with recordings from most of the leading ensembles of the day. I doubt if anyone seriously disagrees that the Octet and the two quartets, op 13 and 14, are among the greatest masterpieces ever composed by a teenager.

[Bryn]

The recordings by the Eroica Quartet on Harmonia Mundi are particularly fine, to my ears.







You might have to search around a bit to find them as sensible prices though.

[amateur51]

Good to see so many recommendations - I collected the CDs by the Coull Quartet in the late 1990s but they don't seem to be easily available at the moment. Great music