Artemis’ Mendelssohn.

 

Artemis String Quartet performs:

This new CD, containing three of Mendelssohn’s six quartets, brings us works from three distinct periods in the composer’s life: Number 2 in A minor, op 13, written in 1827, when he was still a teenager; Number 3 in D major, op 44, No. 1, from 1838 – by which stage he was already at the peak of his career, and Number 6 in A minor, op 80, composed just months before he died at the age of 38, following the death of his beloved sister, Fannie.

We hear the following selections:

Mendelssohn:

  • String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 44 No. 1
  • String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80
  • String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13

Performed by the Artemis Quartet.

The Artemis Quartet’s cellist, Eckart Runge, feels that “Mendelssohn is still a misunderstood composer. Some people continue to view him as somehow superficial and lacking in substance. The truth is that he was a huge talent and a huge intellect. For instance, his rediscovery and advocacy of Bach is reflected in his music. His quartets are both highly sophisticated and profoundly eloquent – they have both great emotional directness and that particular depth that characterizes many composers’ work in the genre.”

Here are excerpts from Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1:

 

 

And next, here is the Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13, first movement, Adagio — Allegro vivace:

 

 

Tags: Felix Mendelssohn, quartets, Artemis Quartet, Runge