Mendelssohn: Works for Cello & Piano

Featuring

Christian Poltéra
Ronald Brautigam
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

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Composer Biography

Mendelssohn's interest in the cello was significantly influenced by his brother Paul Mendelssohn, who was a banker by profession but also an excellent cellist.

Instruments

Christian Poltéra, the cellist on this recording, plays the famous 'Mara' cello, built in 1711 by Antonio Stradivari.

Critical Reception

Clara Schumann, a renowned pianist and composer, greatly enjoyed playing Mendelssohn's first cello sonata, noting it was worthy of comparison to Beethoven's sonatas.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, the composer, aimed to revive chamber music for piano with accompanying instruments like trios and quartets, which he felt were forgotten.

Composition History

The Variations concertantes in D major, Op.17, Mendelssohn's first composition for cello and piano, is dedicated to his brother Paul Mendelssohn.

Composition History

Mendelssohn's Romance sans paroles for cello and piano, his only 'song duet without words', was discovered posthumously and published in 1868.

Critical Reception

Robert Schumann, a contemporary composer and critic, praised Mendelssohn's Sonata No.1, saying it strove to be 'even more musical, more refined, transfigured; and, if one will not mistake my expression, more like Mozart'.