While living in Leipzig, Mendelssohn, as conductor of the Gewandhaus orchestra, introduced innovations such as conducting symphonies himself and programming 'historical concerts' that featured music from various eras.
Composer Biography
The Sonata in B flat major, Op. 45, and the earlier Variations concertantes, Op. 17, were written for Mendelssohn's brother Paul, a financier and amateur cellist.
Composition History
The unpublished Assai tranquillo was composed by Mendelssohn as a memento for his friend and colleague Julius Rietz, a cellist and his assistant Kapellmeister in Düsseldorf.
Critical Reception
Mendelssohn's music, like much of his chamber music, was unjustly neglected during his lifetime and has only recently entered the popular repertoire.
Recording & Production
This recording presents all of Mendelssohn's published works for cello and piano, along with an unpublished fragment recorded here for the first time.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Mendelssohn's musical influences were Bach and Mozart, and he felt a strong allegiance to the Classical era, often noting his difference from Romantic contemporaries like Berlioz, Chopin, and Wagner.
Composition History
The Song without Words, Op. 109, was Mendelssohn's last work for cello and piano, written in 1845 but published posthumously, and belongs to his famous series of lyrical miniatures.
