Mendelssohn String Quartet Op. 44 No. 2 in A Minor - Emerson String Quartet
Ideated from: The Sevens, releases from years ending in 7.
Written and premiered in 1837. What, you were expecting Chuck Berry or Fleetwood Mac?
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was a bit of a child prodigy, composing and performing from a young age. We’re lucky we got as much music from him as we did since he only lived to age 37.
My middle kid, the classical musician in the family, was in a chamber group when she was young that was run by a music professor from the local college. The playing was… I mean, it was middle schoolers playing Mendelssohn, but the professor gave them a little mini-lecture in a heavy Russian accent about how in Mendelssohn’s chamber music you never had to worry about one instrument overwelming the others because everything was so perfectly balanced. He’d know better than I would, but I see his point. It’s very much all four parts working together rather than some pieces that basically feature solos by each instrument.
This is an excellent recording and performance by the Emerson quartet, but there are lots of others. The second time through I listened to the Doric Quartet’s version, but while I liked the performance just as much I thought the Emersons got a better recording that captured more detail. If you like to compare how different musicians interpret things a little differently, there’s also this more restrained performance from the Rolston Quartet that, to my ears, emphasizes the technicality of the music over the passion.
