Fanny Mendelssohn, Felix's elder sister, was a prodigious pianist who could play all 24 Preludes from Bach's Das wohltemperierte Klavier from memory at age thirteen.
Cultural Impact
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel's talent as a composer impressed figures like Hector Berlioz and Charles Gounod, with Gounod describing her as "an unforgettable musician and an excellent pianist."
Composer Biography
Felix Mendelssohn dedicated his Violin Concerto in D minor to his violin teacher, Eduard Rietz, who also served as concertmaster in the 1829 revival of Bach's St Matthew Passion.
Compositional Technique
Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in D minor shows an influence of Johann Sebastian Bach, particularly in its D minor key, unison opening, accented rhythms, and characteristic Bachian semiquaver passages.
Recording & Production
This album features the world premiere recording of the first, unpublished version of Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in D minor MWV O 3.
Instruments
Lina Tur Bonet plays a Carlo Tononi violin from Venice, 1724, and both she and the Orchestre de chambre de Toulouse perform on gut strings for this recording.
Historical Context
Fanny Mendelssohn's father discouraged her from pursuing music professionally, stating that for her, music "can and must remain but an ornament" due to her social position and gender.
