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Essential Mendelssohn

It is almost impossible to find a work by Mendelssohn that isn’t a pleasure to listen to. So we didn’t bother trying. Instead, here is a selection of gems from the composer who wedded poetry and poise like no other musician of the 19th century.

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  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    A Midsummer Night's Dream, Incidental Music op. 61 MWV M 13
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    Concert Overture op. 21 • Allegro di molto
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor op. 64 MWV O 14
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    I. Allegro molto appassionato
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor op. 64 MWV O 14
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    II. Andante
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor op. 64 MWV O 14
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    III. Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words) op. 67 MWV SD 32
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    1. Andante in E flat major (MWV U 180)
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor op. 49 MWV Q 29
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    I. Molto allegro agitato
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 4 in A major op. 90 MWV N 16 “Italian”
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    I. Allegro vivace
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 4 in A major op. 90 MWV N 16 “Italian”
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    II. Andante con moto
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 4 in A major op. 90 MWV N 16 “Italian”
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    III. Con moto moderato
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 4 in A major op. 90 MWV N 16 “Italian”
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    IV. Saltarello. Presto
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Vierstimmige Lieder op. 41 MWV SD 18
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    Im Walde
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words) op. 19b MWV SD 5
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    1. Andante con moto in E major (MWV U 86)
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in G minor op. 25 MWV O 7
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    I. Molto allegro con fuoco
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in G minor op. 25 MWV O 7
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    II. Andante
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in G minor op. 25 MWV O 7
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    III. Presto. Molto allegro vivace
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Die Hebriden (The Hebrides), Overture op. 26 MWV P 7 "Fingalshöhle" ("Fingal’s Cave")
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    Allegro moderato
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Octet in E flat major op. 20 MWV R 20
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    I. Allegro moderato ma con fuoco
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    String Quartet No. 2 in A minor op. 13 MWV R 22
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    I. Adagio - Allegro vivace
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 3 in A minor op. 56 MWV N 18 “Scottish”
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    I. Andante con moto – Allegro un poco agitato
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 3 in A minor op. 56 MWV N 18 “Scottish”
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    II. Vivace non troppo
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 3 in A minor op. 56 MWV N 18 “Scottish”
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    III. Adagio
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 3 in A minor op. 56 MWV N 18 “Scottish”
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    IV. Allegro vivacissimo – Allegro maestoso
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words) op. 67 MWV SD 32
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    2. Allegro leggiero in F sharp minor (MWV U 145)
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in D minor op. 40 MWV O 11
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    I. Allegro appassionato
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in D minor op. 40 MWV O 11
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    II. Adagio. Molto sostenuto
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in D minor op. 40 MWV O 11
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    III. Finale. Presto scherzando
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Gesänge op. 34 MWV SD 13 (Arr. for Violoncello and Piano)
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    2. Auf Flügeln des Gesanges (Abendlied) MWV K 86
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    String Quartet No. 4 in E minor op. 44/2 MWV R 26
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    III. Andante
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words) op. 102 MWV SD 54
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    2. Adagio in D major (MWV U 192)
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 5 in D minor op. 107 MWV N 15 “Reformation”
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    I. Andante – Allegro con fuoco
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 5 in D minor op. 107 MWV N 15 “Reformation”
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    II. Allegro vivace
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 5 in D minor op. 107 MWV N 15 “Reformation”
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    III. Andante – Andante
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Symphony No. 5 in D minor op. 107 MWV N 15 “Reformation”
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    IV. Choral 'Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott'. Andante con moto – Allegro maestoso
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words) op. 38 MWV SD 16
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    6. Andante con moto in A flat major (MWV U 119) "Duet"
  • Mendelssohn Bartholdy
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    Sonata for Organ in F minor op. 65/1 MWV W 56
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    I. Allegro moderato e serioso

Mendelssohn was nothing if not eclectic: a Jewish Lutheran from Germany who was in love with Italy, England and Scotland and adored Shakespeare as much as Schiller. His frequent travels inspired him to write music describing fierce oceans and serene landscapes. He sucked up nature, literature, painting and poetry. His music is impulsively gregarious despite its finesse. Sure, Mendelssohn had an easy life. But he never took the easy route when writing – even when, as in his divine Songs Without Words, it seems as though the music must have come to him as if in a dream.