Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Nationality:
German
Born: February 3, 1809, Hamburg Died: November 4, 1847, Leipzig (age 38)
String Quartet in E-flat major, MWV R18
(for 2 violins, viola and cello)
| 8:21 | I. | Allegro moderato | |
| 5:57 | II. | Adagio non troppo | |
| 6:13 | III. | Minuetto | |
| 3:53 | IV. | Fuga |
Duration: 25 minutes (approximately)
Composed:
1823 (age 13-14)
Published:
1879
3 recordings,
12 videos
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7:20
Melos Quartet
I.
Allegro moderato
6:13
Melos Quartet
II.
Adagio non troppo
6:21
Melos Quartet
III.
Minuetto
3:37
Melos Quartet
IV.
Fuga
9:44
New Zealand String Quartet
I.
Allegro moderato
6:25
New Zealand String Quartet
II.
Adagio non troppo
6:37
New Zealand String Quartet
III.
Minuetto
4:00
New Zealand String Quartet
IV.
Fuga
8:43
Emerson String Quartet
I.
Allegro moderato
5:15
Emerson String Quartet
II.
Adagio non troppo
5:52
Emerson String Quartet
III.
Minuetto
4:03
Emerson String Quartet
IV.
Fuga
Related Composers
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847)
sister
Nationality:
German
Born: November 14, 1805, Hamburg Died: May 14, 1847, Berlin (age 41)
Woldemar Bargiel (1828-1897)
colleague
Nationality:
German
Born: October 3, 1828, Berlin Died: February 23, 1897, Berlin (age 68)
Johann Hummel (1778-1837)
Teacher
Nationality:
Austrian
Born: November 14, 1778, Pressburg (now Bratislava) Died: October 17, 1837, Weimar (age 58)
Heinrich Marschner (1795-1861)
Friend/Colleague
Nationality:
German
Born: August 16, 1795, Zittau Died: December 14, 1861, Hanover (age 66)
Eduard Franck (1817-1893)
Student
Nationality:
German
Born: October 5, 1817, Breslau Died: December 1, 1893, Berlin (age 76)
Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870)
colleague/friend
Nationality:
Bohemian
Born: May 23, 1794, Prague Died: March 10, 1870, Leipzig (age 75)
glossary
- adagio [It]—slow tempo, often implying a lyrical, poignant character
- allegro [I]—fast, lively tempo. From the Italian word for cheerful or gay.
- chamber music, Kammermusik [G], musique de chambre [F], musica da camera [I], musica cameralis [L]—"Classical Music" for a small ensemble, generally 8 or fewer players with a canonical emphasis on 3-6 players. explore
- fugue, fuga, fuge [G], fuguette, fugen [G,pl]—a contrapuntal procedure (form) involving a musical subject (theme) that is successively imitated by multiple overlapping voices. There is a vast canon of rules (concepts) for creating elaborate and diverse fugues with an infinite variety of character based on fairly specific parameters. Fugues (or partial fugato) are found throughout classical music from the late Renaissance to the present.
- minuet, menuet [F], Menuett [G], menuetto [I], minuetto [I]—A graceful, courtly French dance of the Baroque and Classical period with a triple meter and a moderate tempo.It was introduced at the court of Louis XIV. In classical forms such as the symphony or chamber music, the minuet evolved into the more vigorous scherzo.
- moderato [I], moderamente, modéré [F], modérément [F]—moderately, at a moderate tempo, applying a touch of restraint to its related word(s), e.g. allegro moderato
-
string quartet, Streichquartett [G], quatuor à cordes [F], quartetto d'archi [I], quartetto di cordi [I], cuarteto de cuerda [S]—an ensemble as well as music written for that ensemble comprising 2 violins, viola and cello. This is one of the essential genres / forms / ensembles of chamber music and arguably a critical "core" of "classical" music.
Explore the string quartet. - troppo [I], non troppo, trop [F]—too, too much. non troppo means "not too much". e.g. "Allegro ma non troppo" means fast, but not too much