# Mendelssohn String Quintet No. 1 in A



## Mr Salek

Hey guys,

In an up and coming youth orchestra concert, I'm playing the Mendelssohn Quintet with some other orchestra members (hence yesterday's thread) and I've been asked to write the programme notes for it. This was all great until I hit Wikipedia and realised that there was no entry for it! Every Google link is trying to sell me the CD. I can literally find nothing about it! All I know is that it's opus 18 so he would have written it when he was about 16. Does anyone have any helpful information or links to sites?

Here's what I have so far. It's been written using my own knowledge and a small text on Mendelssohn:



> Felix Mendelssohn was born in 1809 to a notable Jewish family, being the grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. He began taking piano lessons from his mother when he was six and started composition lessons when at 8, writing his first published work, a piano quartet, by the time he was thirteen. The string quintet no. 1 in A was his 18th work and was written in 1826, at the tender age of 16.


Thanks very much,

Mr S


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## robert newman

Dear Mr S,

I've checked from various sources and it seems Mendelssohn's 1st Quintet Op.18 may be a more mature work that it first seems. It apparently dates from 1832 when the composer was 23 years old. In fact it was written 2 years after great works such as the 'Hebrides Overture' and the very same year as his 5th ('Reformation') Symphony.

It seems Mendelssohn Opus numbers (given by publishers) are not a very accurate reflection of when the composer actually wrote particular pieces. Schubert's works have often suffered from the same problem.

That same year (1832) Mendelssohn wrote -

Cantata, "Die erste Walpurgisnacht" voices, orchestra, Opus 60 1st version (Choral with Accompaniment) 
Fugue in B minor, Opus 35#3b (Piano) 
Prelude in D Major, Opus 35#2a (Piano) 
*String Quintet #1 in A Major, Opus 18 *
Symphony #5 in D minor, "Reformation", Opus 107 
Te Deum in A soli, voices, orchestra (Sacred)

I have not been able to find out any specific information on the quintet itself and would really like to hear it myself.

Regards


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## Mr Salek

Thanks very much. The quintet itself is lovely, I'll try and find you a link to the piece but in the mean time there are samples of the work on Amazon.


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## Daniel

Indeed, it is such a great piece, one of my favourite chamber-works. But what other information are you searching for, Mr Salek? Analyse? Cause of writing?


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## opus67

Mr.Salek, here's some info that could help
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=42:26851~T1


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## Mr Salek

Cause of writing and a bit of background to the piece would be nice.

And that info is fantastic, opus67, thanks


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## Nevohteeb

If you want to hear a superlative performance of this quintet, and the Bb+, one, go to Arkiv.com, and check the many performances they have on cd. My favourite, is Marlboro Festival on CBS #45883. i was there, when it was performed, live. It was magnificent.The musicians were, Jaime Laredo, & Ani Kavafian, violins; Heiichiro Ohyama & Young Uck Kim, viola; & Sharon Robinson, cello.


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