The 9 introductory bars are a declaration of love to Bach! It is no wonder that Mendelssohn was the important rehabilitator of Bach in the nineteenth century; and also responsible for the romanticization of the master of Leipzig and so many other cities of the Holy Empire. And did Bach belong somewhere other than music?
Four works after, he did his infamously well known Octet for strings. Yet, on an f minor key for a sonata is rare and difficult to play for a violinist. Still, it's an incredible piece
This is just an incredible work for such a young composer. It goes above and beyond what Mozart accomplished at the same stage; and in addition, Mendelssohn furnishes his work with a warm Romantic glow (albeit Victorian and proper).
@@timothythorne9464 Mozart composed the first piano concerto in teenage and it's really good. The symphonies and the string quartets are also very good. Don't forget that Mozart already composed good symphonies in prepubertal age.
@@ClassicalMusicAndSoundtracks you may be right. I recently listened to Mozart's 5th piano concerto and his 21st symphony, both composed when he was 16, and they are simply fantastic! Also he was a teenager when he wrote his 5 violin concertos; they're among the finest such works in all instrumental music.
@@timothythorne9464 Listen to symphony 14 too. He composed it when he was 15 years old. I think that the first and the fourth movements have brilliant themes.
This is probably my favoriete music of all and in my absolute favorite recording. Thankyou Schlomo Mintz, Paul Ostrovsky, and last but not least Felix Mendelssohn for creating this beautiful solace; it is laced with lighthearted melancholy, and is food for the soul like no other 🙏🙏🙏
@@harmonicparadox2055 Oop, I thought you meant right at the start of the piano entry - with the first minitheme C-Ab-F that really sounded like the opening of the Appassionata
Ask yourself, how many composers at sixteen can compose an F-minor violin sonata just like this and with unexpected tempo changes? Typical of Mendelssohn to do so. Sad that he didn't live longer- I would have loved another sonata of his...
BoomerRaid Yes, Mendelssohn was a blessing from God. I love his music a lot too. His premature death makes me wonder what other great works he could have written had he lived longer.
I don't know if you ever stumbled upon this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OdmdoVSjXTo.html . I know I was suprised that there do exist other Mendelssohn violin sonatas.
Mendelssohn was a very promising composer than never really matured during his lifetime. All of his works have this aura of expectation that is never fully delivered.
The symphony may be written in the same mood as this and I rather like it. It's very repetetive (I know that some would argue, that it's supposed to sound like this, but couldn't the composer have written the passages in a less obvious way? I mean: even I grow bored of the same motif over and over again, and I sometimes listen to the same piece the whole day on loop, while learning). You're right, the symphony really is similar to Mendelssohn's sonata. Repetetive. But the sonata sounds much better in my opinion.
Wonderful playing. The only thing that bugs me is the poor mixing / audio engineering at 22:30 - 22:45. No idea what happens but it's the only blemish in an otherwise exquisite performance.
That's not a Tristan chord (half-diminished 7th), but rather a fully diminished seventh chord (E natural-G-Bflat-Dflat) with an accented passing tone on the downbeat in the left hand. That F is not part of the chord, but rather a dissonant passing tone, which gets resolved into the actual note in the chord, E natural. The same thing happens on the downbeat right after the repeat sign, but in that case the dissonance is in the right hand. Another thing to remember is that the so-called Tristan chord--the half-diminished seventh harmony--is not at all an unusual or pathbreaking or innovative chord in the tonal music of the common practice period. It's a standard harmony that goes back to at least Bach, and serves a specific traditional function. What is pathbreaking about Wagner's use of the sonority is **how** he uses it; mysteriously and without any obvious, traditional resolution. Wagner's sonority is more symbolic of the further chromatic freedom that composers would take subsequently, but the chord itself is by no means innovative.
I noticed that if you check out the comment sections of videos showing pieces Mendelssohn composed when he was younger, you'll find a couple of people crying: "OUOUOUOUOU!!! SOUNDS LIKE ***any composer who is in these people's minds***!!! I NOTICED THAT AFTER HEARING THE CHORD AT EXACTLY 15:39! I'M A MUSICAL ACADEMIC SNOP AND IN MY OPINION MENDELSSOHN WAS NOT VERY GOOD! ...and my opinion is a fact!" But no front against all these dudes - there are also cool people who describe the similarities between pieces by Mendelssohn and other composers very constructively.
Young Mendelssohn or not, I find this quite boring and un-interesting, but the rarity deserves a couple of hearings. I have no clue where the accolades have been coming from, sorry.
I'm only in the first movement, but I can really see where you're coming from. There's really not a lot of big tension here, though a fair bit of smaller tensions and resolutions. It's definitely not as good as his later work imo, but charming for me, especially when considering the guy was 14 lol.
