Felix Mendelssohn: The Complete Works for Cello and Piano

Featuring

Marie Macleod
Martin Sturfält
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

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Critical Reception

While Mendelssohn was initially met with intense acclaim, by the late nineteenth century, his music was often deemed outmoded, with George Bernard Shaw criticizing his 'kid-glove gentility' and 'conventional sentimentality'.

Composer Biography

Felix Mendelssohn, born in Hamburg in 1809, began composing at age ten and came from an affluent family with a notable intellectual lineage; his grandfather was the eminent Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.

Recording & Production

This album, featuring Marie Macleod on cello and Martin Sturfält on piano, was recorded live at the Västerås Concert Hall.

Historical Context

Mendelssohn's music was suppressed under the Third Reich as a Jewish emblem, despite his father having baptised the family as Lutheran in 1816.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Under the guidance of his tutor Carl Friedrich Zelter, Mendelssohn developed largely conservative musical tastes and later founded the famously anti-radical Leipzig Conservatory in 1843.

Composer Biography

Mendelssohn's sister Fanny was also a musician of distinction and was considered to have talent equal or superior to Felix, but her musical ambitions were curbed as unbefitting a woman of standing.