Mendelssohn's accomplishments extended beyond music to painting, drawing, poetry, and translation, leading to comparisons with polymaths like Goethe and Alexander von Humboldt, both of whom he befriended.
Composition History
Mendelssohn's Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 1, his first published work, was dedicated to Prince Antoni Henryk Radziwill, a former patron of Beethoven.
Recording & Production
This album completes a major project by the Atlantis Trio and Atlantis Ensemble to record Felix Mendelssohn's chamber works for piano and strings in honor of his 2009 bicentennial.
Composer Biography
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was a child prodigy known for his versatility as a composer, conductor, pianist, organist, violinist, violist, scholar, and editor.
Composition History
Mendelssohn's composition teacher, Carl Friedrich Zelter, declared him a 'journeyman' in the brotherhood of J. S. Bach, Haydn, and Mozart on his 15th birthday in 1824.
Compositional Technique
Mendelssohn's Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 1, recalls motives and themes from Mozart's Piano Sonata K. 457, particularly in its opening and monothematic finale.
Instruments
The fortepiano used in this recording is a Conrad Graf grand piano, Opus 2148, built around 1835 in Vienna, and was restored over two years.
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