String Quartets Vol. 1

Abstract

This is usually listed as string quartet no 6, which is correct in terms of order of composition. It was written in the composer's last year. Naturally, it is an elegantly conceived composition. But it is also remarkable in that here the Mendelssohn's ordinary sense of emotional reserve collapses completely. Ordinarly showing the surface coolness of a man born into the upper classes, Mendelssohn's facade dissolves entirely, showing despair and rage. The reason is obvious: He returned homefrom Leipzig (where he was employed as conductor) in May, and learned of the death of his sister Fanny, four years his elder, an excellent musician and composer in her own right who was his closest confidante. He wrote this, his last great work, in July as a "Requiem for Fanny." When he returned to Leipzig, his friends found that he had changed; their description of his appearance and listlessness suggests what we would call severe depression. He took time off to visit his sister's grave in Berlin, and returned even more disturbed in mood. He could not conduct. At the end of October he suffered what appeared to be a small stroke. Further attacks followed and he died on November 4. There are few works in music which seem so firmly linked to the composer's death. Armed with knowledge and hindsight, the listener fancies that he can almost hear it coming. It is not out of bounds to say that he died of grief for his sister, and this quartet expresses that grief and pessimism so strongly that, for once, Mendelssohn reveals more of himself than even Schumann would have. A masterpiece torn from the heart, and essential to a string quartet collection.

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