MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: AmazonUK AmazonUS
Download: Classicsonline

Fanny MENDELSSOHN-HENSEL (1805-1847)
Piano works
Allegro molto in C minor (1846) [3:25]
Nocturne in G minor (1838) [4:43]
Piano Sonata in C minor (1824) [13:47]
Lied in E flat (1846) [7:08]
Piano Sonata in G minor (1843) [17:42]
Adagio in E flat (1840-43) [3:50]
Andante con moto in E major (1846) [5:44]
Sonata o Capriccio (1824) [7:01]
Allegro molto agitato in D minor (1823) [1:45]
Schluss (1823) [2:13]
Heather Schmidt (piano)
rec. 5-6 November, 2007, Glenn Gould Studio, Toronto, Canada
NAXOS 8.570825 [67:18]

Experience Classicsonline

Naxos is doing well by Fanny Mendelssohn, as it’s evinced dedication to her songs, which are part on an unfurling series from the company. In this release we have piano works, ones moreover that span the years 1823 to 1846; that’s to say between the ages of 18 and 40. She died in 1847 at the age of 41.

Though the titles of most of these works are utilitarian rather than poetically descriptive that can’t hide the craft, seriousness and lyric immediacy of them. They prove to be splendid works, fully worthy to be set in the context of compositions written in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. The Allegro molto of 1846 for example is a dynamic outpouring, striking for the incessant reiteration of its passionate declamation. The warmly evocative Notturno in G minor recalls the ethos of her brother Felix but even as early as the 1824 Sonata in C minor one finds her deft architectural and expressive sensibilities were in full flow. Themes are well contrasted, the slow movement warmly textured and there’s confident brio in the dramatic finale.

The companion sonata of 1843 is perhaps her greatest achievement in this medium. It starts as it means to go on - tautly, even a touch brusquely, certainly tense in places. This is music in a hurry, with no concessions to post-Rococo frippery. But it’s also a lively kind of lyricism into which she manages to vest a somewhat reflective, quietly melancholy spirit. Her scherzo is exciting, albeit a touch wistful, and not at all gossamer, whilst the slow movement’s lyricism is offset by its reflective spirit. Once more her finale proves powerful but not granitic. A work such as this shows her awareness of the more athletic and the more pessimistic sides of her own compositional nature.

The Lied may refer tangentially to Felix’s Songs without Words and its lyricism is indeed infused with drama and songful narrative. Of the other works none is less than worthwhile. The Sonata o Capriccio does have a strange title, seemingly unable to work out which it is, but it’s a delight to listen to. There’s a brief but intense, powerful octave study in the shape of Allegro molto agitato, and a Bach-evoking Schluss.

The fine mediator between Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel and the listener is Heather Schmidt, who plays with genuine verve and an animated refinement, catching the seeming paradoxes embedded in some of the music with great assurance. She’s been backed up by some well calibrated engineering as well.

Jonathan Woolf


See also review by Brian Reinhart


 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.