Presented by Leo Samama.
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) is often compared to Mozart, not in the least because of his status as a child prodigy. But his music appears seldomly to that of Mozart, and is in fact not a continuation of it either. The young Felix was more interested in the elegant, virtuoso music of Spohr, Viotti and Moscheles. Through his teacher, Carl Zelter, he became acquainted with the works of Bach at a very young age, whereby his music early on had many ingenious contrapuntal techniques. Mendelssohn composed his first adult String quartet in A minor, opus 13, in 1827, two years after the baptism of the famous Octet for eight strings.
The Swiss composer Friedrich Fröhlich (1803-1836), who died at a young age, studied for a short while with Carl Zelter, through whom he met his young student Felix Mendelssohn. Of the eight string quartets that Fröhlich is supposed to have composed, only some modern editions are available. These give us an image of a highly skilled composer, who died too young to have been able to develop himself properly.
Felix Mendelssohn – String quartet in A minor, opus 13
1. Adagio-Allegro vivace, 2. Adagio non lento, 3. Intermezzo: allegretto con moto-Allegro di molto, 4. Presto
Performers: Quatuor mosaïques
CD: Auvidis
Friedrich Fröhlich – String quartet in G minor
1. Andante con variazioni, and 4. Finale: Allegro molto
Performers: Rasumowsky Quartett
CD: CPO
