Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Works for Piano Four-hands
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy knew that he could rely on his highly gifted sister Fanny as a partner in four-hand piano pieces. While he wrote only a few works of this sort, the two pieces presented here are superb examples of the genre. The Andante con variazioni, op. 83, presents a further development of his cycle of the same name for piano two-hands. The Duet – Andante and Allegro assai vivace – was formerly known as the Allegro brillant, op. 92. This latter, however, is only the first version of the work, from which the lovely slow introduction is still missing. Henle Verlag is now publishing Mendelssohn’s complete and revised final version for the first time; the early version is also provided, in an Appendix, for purposes of comparison.
About the Composer
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
A German composer, conductor, pianist, and organist who already numbered among the most important composers in Europe during his lifetime. While still young he found a unique tonal language. Reflected in his oeuvre, which spans all genres, are the contradictory tendencies of the age – Classicism and Romanticism. His endeavors over the course his life to perform the works of Johann Sebastian Bach led to a “rediscovery” of that composer which continues unabated. His intensive engagement with Bach and his counterpoint influenced his own compositional technique.
| 1809 | Born into a wealthy banker’s family in Hamburg on February 3. Escape to Berlin with his parents in 1811. First musical instruction from his mother. |
| 1819 | He becomes a pupil of Carl Friedrich Zelter. |
| 1820 | Joins the Sing-Akademie in Berlin. |
| 1821–23 | Twelve sinfonias for strings. |
| 1825 | String Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20. |
| 1826 | Overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Op. 21 |
| 1827 | Begins studies at the University of Berlin. |
| 1829 | Revival of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Berlin on March 11 and 21. Travels to England and Scotland. |
| 1829–30 | “Reformation” Symphony in D minor, [Op. 107], with inclusion of the choral “Ein feste Burg“ (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.) |
| 1830–32 | Extended travels, including to Italy and France. Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 25; Overture in B minor, Op. 26, “The Hebrides, or Fingal’s Cave” (1829–30). |
| 1833 | Music director in Düsseldorf. “Italian” Symphony in A major, Op. 90 (1830–33). |
| 1835 | Director of the Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig. |
| 1836 | Premiere in Düsseldorf of his oratorio “St. Paul: Oratorio on Words of the Holy Bible,” Op. 36. |
| 1838-44 | Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64. |
| 1840 | Composition of “Hymn of Praise, a Symphony-Cantata on Words of the Holy Bible,” Op. 52. |
| 1841 | Berlin, in the service of the Prussian king. “Variations sérieuses” in D minor, Op. 54, for piano. |
| 1842 | Completion of Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”) in A minor, Op. 56, with a songlike opening. |
| 1843 | Incidental music to Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Op. 61. Director of the newly founded Leipzig Conservatory. |
| 1846 | Premiere of his oratorio “Elijah,” Op. 70, in Birmingham. |
| 1847 | String Quartet in F minor, [Op. 80]. Death in Leipzig on November 4. |
About the Authors
Ernst-Günter Heinemann (Editor)
Dr. Ernst-Günter Heinemann, born in 1945 in Bad Marienberg (Westerwald), completed his schooling in Gießen and read musicology, philosophy and German in Marburg and Frankfurt/Main and also for some time Protestant church music. He did his doctorate on “Franz Liszts geistliche Musik. Zum Konflikt von Kunst und Engagement”.
From 1978–2010 Heinemann worked as an editor at G. Henle Publishers (in 1978 in Duisburg, from 1979 onwards in Munich). He edited a great many Urtext editions for the publishing house, including “Das Wohltemperierte Klavier”, Volume 1 by Bach and all of Debussy’s piano works. In addition, he wrote essays on Debussy, Grieg, Liszt, Mendelssohn and questions concerning general editing, as well as giving seminars on editorial practice for musicology students in Munich.
Andreas Groethuysen (Fingering)
Prof. Andreas Groethuysen, born in 1956 in Munich, studied music with Ludwig Hoffmann in Munich and, on a scholarship from the “Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes”, with Peter Feuchtwanger in London.
After several years as a soloist, Groethuysen formed a piano duo with Yaara Tal, which has now become the focus of his artistic work. The duo regularly performs in many European countries, in Israel, China, North and South America. In exclusive cooperation with SONY CLASSICAL the internationally acclaimed piano duo has released a great many CDs – 28 to date – almost all of which have been awarded prizes.
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