Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 –
1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was
a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of
the early romantic period. Mendelssohn wrote
symphonies, concertos, oratorios, piano music and
chamber music. His best-known works include his
Overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's
Dream, the Italian Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, the
overture The Hebrides, his mature Violin Concerto, and
his String Octet. His Songs With...(+)
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 –
1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was
a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of
the early romantic period. Mendelssohn wrote
symphonies, concertos, oratorios, piano music and
chamber music. His best-known works include his
Overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's
Dream, the Italian Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, the
overture The Hebrides, his mature Violin Concerto, and
his String Octet. His Songs Without Words are his most
famous solo piano compositions. After a long period of
relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and
antisemitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
his creative originality has been re-evaluated. He is
now among the most popular composers of the romantic
era.
Mendelssohn enjoyed early success in Germany, and
revived interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach,
notably with his performance of the St Matthew Passion
in 1829. He became well received in his travels
throughout Europe as a composer, conductor and soloist;
his ten visits to Britain – during which many of his
major works were premiered – form an important part
of his adult career. His essentially conservative
musical tastes set him apart from more adventurous
musical contemporaries such as Franz Liszt, Richard
Wagner, Charles-Valentin Alkan and Hector Berlioz. The
Leipzig Conservatoire, which he founded, became a
bastion of this anti-radical outlook.
As Mendelssohn's admirers are aware, the six works in
his Op. 19b Songs Without Words are not piano versions
of the six songs in the Op. 19a vocal collection, nor
are they drawn from any of his other songs. Listeners
have often assumed the piano works have a vocal
connection not just because of their collective title,
but because pieces like No. 2, in A minor here, have
been given titles. This one is often published as
"Regrets," but considering its somewhat melancholy mood
and other features, that tag captures the chief aspect
of this work's character. Indeed, there is something
regretful about the main theme, a songful creation
whose mostly descending contour and intimate,
quasi-nocturnal manner seem to convey a sense of loss.
Yet the music is elegant and emotionally restrained,
conveying its sadness in an almost light fashion.
Marked Andante Espressivo, the work is gentle and
lovely, reaching its most touching moment near the
close, when the music descends to the piano's bass
region, after which the theme is heard in a beautiful
mixture of upper- and lower-register sonorities.
Although originally composed for Piano, I created this
Interpretation of the "Andante con Moto" from "Lieder
ohne Worte" (Op. 19 No. 1) for Oboe & Concert (Pedal)
Harp.
PARTITION