MENDELSSOHN : Songs and Duets • 2 (Sophie Daneman • Stephan Loges • Eugene Asti) (2001) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

'The most attractive programming of the Mendelssohn duets yet devised'. So said Fanfare of Sophie Daneman's entrancing first disc of Mendelssohn songs and duets recorded with Nathan Berg (CDA66906). That disc was so well received when it was issued in spring 1998 that we have now produced a second in which she is partnered by the outstanding winner of the Wigmore Hall Song Competition, baritone Stephan Loges, accompanied as before by the American Eugene Asti.
Like the first disc there are many rare and previously unrecorded items here. Hyperion
Tracklist & Credits :

MENDELSSOHN : Songs and Duets • 3 (Sophie Daneman • Stephan Loges • Eugene Asti) (2003) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

Eugene Asti and his dedicated team of singers present us with an engaging recital of twenty-six songs and duets from the Mendelssohn stable. This collection includes settings of poetry by Goethe, Byron, Heine, Eichendorff and others; twenty songs are by Felix Mendelssohn—whose facility to charm is perfectly exploited in such a medium—with Fanny Mendelssohn demonstrating in the remaining six an extraordinary and striking talent, quite the match of her younger sibling.
The Mendelssohn songs without words may indeed outshine the Lieder in our contemporary consciousness, but here we find domestic bliss in pure musical form.
The first two volumes in this ongoing series have been warmly received around the world. Hyperion    Tracklist & Credits :

MENDELSSOHN : Songs and Duets • 4 (Katherine Broderick • Stephan Loges • Eugene Asti) (2009) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

Mendelssohn seems to have finally hit the big league in this bicentenary year of his birth. Critical reappraisals of his music have confirmed this somewhat elusive composer as an important Romantic figure, and probably the greatest child prodigy of all time. Hyperion’s contribution to the composer’s rehabilitation includes the acclaimed series of Songs and Duets, now reaching Volume 4.

It is remarkable to realize that compositions by a major composer in the Western canon could go unpublished and unheard for more than 150 years, but that was the sad situation with Mendelssohn—until recently. The pianist Eugene Asti has gathered together 46 previously unknown songs from various stages of this composer’s sadly truncated life. Through much of the previous century, his songs were often judged against the example of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms and found wanting, but Mendelssohn’s aesthetic of song was very different from those of his contemporaries. What the newly published works reveal is a willingness to experiment with novel song forms and highly expressive harmonies, some of which go beyond the graceful and vocally grateful melodies, limpid textures, and strophic forms for which he is best known.

For this disc, Eugene Asti has gathered together a dazzling selection of singers, including some of the most exciting young artists working today. Katherine Broderick, the winner of the coveted 2007 Kathleen Ferrier Prize, has a uniquely beautiful voice, its bloom and agility belying its considerable power. Hyperion
Tracklist & Credits :

MENDELSSOHN : Songs and Duets • 5 (Katherine Broderick • Stephan Loges • Eugene Asti) 2CD (2010) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

Eugene Asti’s pioneering Mendelsson Songs and Duets series, containing a large number of first recordings and rarities, concludes with this fifth volume, a generous two CDs for the price of one. The contents range from Mendelssohn’s first extant composition of any kind – a birthday song presented to his father by the precocious ten-year-old composer – to settings of the German romantic poets Schiller, Goethe and Eichendorff, which place Mendelssohn firmly in the canon of the great Lieder composers.

These works are performed by a talented group of young singers who will be familiar from other discs in the series, including the winner of the 2008 Kathleen Ferrier prize, Katherine Broderick. Hyperion   Tracklist & Credits :

FELIX & FANNY MENDELSSOHN (Quatuor Ebène) (2013) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

France's Quatuor Ebène has been known for its classical-pop fusion experiments (they dislike the term "crossover"). Here they stick with classical string quartet pieces, but their style and choice of music is still plenty unusual. The chief repertory attraction here is Fanny Mendelssohn's String Quartet in E flat major, composed in 1834. This work, the composer's only string quartet, is not usually included in comparisons of music by Felix Mendelssohn and his older sister, but it deserves to be better known. It is clearly something of an exercise in mastering Beethoven's style -- hear the fugal central section of the second-movement Allegretto (track 6), for example, whose clear inspiration is the Scherzo of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 -- but in spite of this has a strong undercurrent of suppressed emotion. The work opens in harmonic ambiguity that is reflected in small moments of tension throughout. The work's appeal resides in that duality of exercise and strong feeling, and the Quatuor Ebène's high-intensity performance brings it out effectively. The work is short, but here it has a rather explosive quality. In the two quartets by Felix Mendelssohn you may find the quartet either bracingly tough or rather overbearing, but there are moments where both camps will agree: hear the live-wire tension in the opening explosion of the finale of the String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80. This is a must-have for those interested in Fanny Mendelssohn, and it's well worth sampling and considering for general string quartet listeners. James Manheim 

Tracklist
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13
1 1. Adagio - Allegro vivace  7:55
Felix Mendelssohn
2 2. Adagio non lento  7:43
Felix Mendelssohn
3 3. Intermezzo: Allegretto con moto  5:10
Felix Mendelssohn
4 4. Presto  9:21
Felix Mendelssohn
String Quartet in E flat major
5 1. Adagio ma non troppo  4:31
Fanny Mendelssohn
6 2. Allegretto  3:37
Fanny Mendelssohn
7 3. Romanze  6:44
Fanny Mendelssohn
8 4. Allegro molto vivace  5:39
Fanny Mendelssohn
String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80
9 1. Allegro vivace assai  7:36
Felix Mendelssohn
10 2. Allegro assai  4:33
Felix Mendelssohn
11 3. Adagio  8:26
Felix Mendelssohn
12 4. Finale: Allegro molto  5:30
Felix Mendelssohn

PABLO CASALS - The Complete EMI Recordings (1926-1955) 9CD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

CD1
J.S. Bach • Cello Suites 1-3

CD2
J.S. Bach • Cello Suites 4-6

CD3
Beethoven • Cello Sonats 1-3

CD4
Beethoven • Cello Sonata 4-5
Brahms • Cello Sonata Nr. 2

CD5
Dvorák • Cello Concerto
Elgar • Cello Concerto
Bruch • Koll Nidrei

CD6
Beethoven • Piano Trio Nr.7 'Archduke'
Schubert • Piano Trio Nr.1 D898

CD7
Mendelssohn • Piano Trio Nr.1 Op.49
Schumann • Piano Trio Nr.1 Op.63

CD8
Haydn • Piano Trio in G Hob. XV:25 Op.73 Nr.2
Brahms • Double Concerto
Boccherini • Cello Concerto in B flat

CD9
E#ncores and showpieces • Sardanes de concert

PABLO CASALS : Cello

MENDELSSOHN : The Complete String Quartets (Emerson String Quartet) 4CD + Bonus Video (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This set of the String Quartets of Mendelssohn may prove to be the most lasting contribution the Emerson Quartet has yet made to the string quartet discography. While the Emerson has always been slightly out of its depth in the quartets of Bartók, Beethoven, and Shostakovich, in the quartets of Mendelssohn, the Emerson has met its match. This is not to disparage either the Emerson Quartet, much less Mendelssohn. The Emerson is easily the finest string quartet in contemporary America, a supple ensemble with a warm tone, a strong technique, and an expressive manner. And Mendelssohn is easily the finest of the German composers of the 1830s and 1840s, a polished composer with an inexhaustible imagination, an assured technique, and an ardent heart. Together, Mendelssohn and the Emerson are smart, stylish, witty, and touching. It is a pleasure to spend time in their company. While the vehemence of Bartók, the sublimity of Beethoven, and the agony of Shostakovich may be just beyond the reach of the Emerson, the humanity of Mendelssohn is well within its grasp. Deutsche Grammophon's sound is clear, warm, and deep. by James Leonard
All Tracks & Credits

MENDELSSOHN : The Concertos For 2 Pianos (Ian Munro, Stephen Coombs · BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra · Jerzy Maksymiuk) (1992) Serie The Romantic Piano Concerto – 3 | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1845) was a genius of quite extraordinary dimensions. He had reached full maturity as a composer by the age of sixteen (1825, the year of the String Octet), by which time he had also proved himself a double prodigy on both piano and violin, an exceptional athlete (and a particularly strong swimmer), a talented poet (Goethe was a childhood friend and confidante), multi-linguist, water-colourist, and philosopher. He excelled at virtually anything which could hold his attention for long enough, although it was music which above all activated his creative imagination.

Mendelssohn was an exceptionally gifted pianist, whose early studies under Ludwig Berger progressed at an astonishing rate. After hearing a recital given at home by the twelve-year-old boy, Goethe exclaimed: ‘What this little man is capable of in terms of improvisation and sight-reading is simply prodigious. I would have not thought it possible at such an age.’ When a companion reminded him that he had heard Mozart extemporize at a similar age, the great poet replied: ‘Just so!’ This was in 1821, by which time Mendelssohn had already composed a violin sonata, three piano sonatas, and two operas!

Mendelssohn’s mature piano style was derived not so much from the orchestral texturing of Beethoven and Schubert, as from the filigree intricacies of the German virtuoso piano school, represented principally by Hummel and Weber, further enhanced by a Mozartian emphasis on textural clarity. It was never Mendelssohn’s intention to push contemporary keyboard instruments beyond that of which they were comfortably capable, more to utilize those qualities for which they were best adapted—brilliant clarity in the treble register, and the ability to sustain a flowing, cantabile melody without undue bass resonance.

Mendelssohn’s first surviving works in concerto form date from 1822: the D minor Violin Concerto (not the popular E minor, a much later composition) and the Piano Concerto in A minor, both with string orchestra accompaniment, closely followed by a D minor Concerto for violin, piano and strings in May 1823. The Concertos for two pianos also belong to this early group, the E major being dated 17 October 1823, and the A flat major 12 November 1824. Both works had entirely dropped out of the repertoire until, in 1950, the original manuscripts were ‘rediscovered’ in the Berlin State Library.

Mendelssohn’s sister, Fanny, was also a gifted pianist, and it is almost certain that the E major Concerto was written with her in mind. However, it also appears likely that the A flat Concerto was inspired by Felix’s first encounter with the young piano virtuoso Ignaz Moscheles. Upon seeing the boy Mendelssohn play, even Moscheles could barely believe his eyes: ‘Felix, a mere boy of fifteen, is a phenomenon. What are all other prodigies compared with him?—mere gifted children. I had to play a good deal, when all I really wanted to do was to hear him and look at his compositions.’

The major criticism levelled at the Two-Piano Concertos is their tendency to overstretch relatively fragile musical material, as, with two soloists to contend with, Mendelssohn had been keen to ensure that the music was shared equally, thus involving an unusual amount of repetition. It would hardly be fair to expect even Mendelssohn to have achieved the miraculous thematic concision and structural cohesion of the E minor Violin Concerto and G and D minor Piano Concertos at such an early age.

The opening tutti of the E major Concerto uncovers a vein of dream-like contentment which was to become Mendelssohn’s expressive trademark. Virtually every subsequent composition contains passages of this nature contrasted, as here, by fleet-footed music of quicksilver brilliance. Even the use of Mozartian falling chromaticisms fails to cloud the blissfully trouble-free outlook.

The central 6/8 Adagio anticipates Mendelssohn’s favourite arioso Lieder ohne Worte style, whilst the high velocity finale demonstrates the composer’s precocious ability to assimilate Hummelian semiquaver athletics, and organize them into a convincing (if not yet fully developed) structure, transcending the aimless note-spinning of many of his older contemporaries.

The first movement of the A flat major Two-Piano Concerto is Mendelssohn’s longest concerto movement, and despite the composer’s declared preference for the E major Concerto, it displays a greater awareness of internal balance and structural proportions than its younger companion. The Mozartian opening theme (shades of the A major Concerto K414!) is embellished by some decidedly un-Mozartian virtuoso cascades during the soloists’ exposition, although a second lyrical idea is decidedly more restrained in its pyrotechnical aspirations.

The wistful Andante is clearly premonitory of the main theme of the G minor Piano Concerto’s slow movement, even if the continually flowing 6/8 metre and self-conscious virtuoso flourishes betray a certain lack of formal confidence in comparison with the later work.

Weber clearly marks the starting point for the good-natured Allegro vivace finale, its jocular high spirits being effectively contained by passing moments of mild contrapuntal ingenuity. The exuberant coda forces the main theme into overdrive, betraying a refreshingly boyish naivety, in stark contrast to the startling individuality and resourcefulness of the work as a whole. At only fifteen yeary of age, Mendelssohn was no mere fledgling composer but a highly creative intelligence on the verge of artistic maturity. Hyperion

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
    
Concerto for two pianos in A flat major[41'28]

Concerto for two pianos in E major[30'35]

Credits :
Conductor – Jerzy Maksymiuk
Leader – Geoffrey Trabichoff
Orchestra – BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Piano – Ian Munro, Stephen Coombs

MENDELSSOHN : Piano Concerto No 1 In G Minor • Piano Concerto No 2 In D Minor • Capriccio Brillant, Op 22 • Rondo Brillant, Op 29 • Serenade And Allegro Giocoso, Op 43 (Stephen Hough · City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra · Lawrence Foster) (1997) Serie The Romantic Piano Concerto – 17 | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This disc brings together, for the first time to our knowledge, all of Mendelssohn's published works for piano and orchestra. Mendelssohn was regarded as one of the foremost pianists of his day, Clara Schumann describing him as 'the dearest pianist of all'. While his works for the instrument are by no means as numerous as those of, say, Liszt or Chopin, they are models of the nineteenth-century genre and filled with melodious charm.

The First Concerto is actually the earliest work on this disc, despite its opus number, and is the work that Liszt sight-read from a scribbled score to an astonished Mendelssohn when the two composers met in Paris. The Second Concerto saw its premiere— appropriately enough given the orchestra performing on this disc—in Birmingham during the festival of 1837. The remaining three works find Mendelssohn in light-hearted mood, showing off his knack for melody and unaffected charm to the full. Hyperion

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Capriccio Brillant In B Minor Op 22     10:39

Piano Concerto No 1 In G Minor Op 25     (19:30)

Rondo Brillant In E Flat Major Op 29     10:45

Piano Concerto No 2 In D Minor Op 40     (21:02)

Serenade And Allegro Giocoso In B Minor Op 43     12:48

Credits :
Conductor – Lawrence Foster
Leader – Peter Thomas
Orchestra – City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Piano – Stephen Hough

STEVEN ISSERLIS - Plays Kabalevsky, Mendelssohn and Brahms (2011) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Performers: Steven Isserlis - cello, Joshua Bell - violin, Dénes Várjon - piano [4-7] | Stephen Hough - piano [8-10], Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra - Kirill Karabits

FELIX MENDELSSOHN - Complete Piano Music (1996) 6CD / Mp3

Anyone looking for Mendelssohn's complete piano music -- a repertoire not often performed and less often recorded -- need look no further than this six disc set. It includes everything with an opus number and many things without one: the three Sonatas, the three Variations, the seven Preludes and Fugues, the ten Caprices, and, naturally, the 48 Songs without Words among many, many other works. The performances are consistently first-rate. With his refined technique, polished tone and elegant interpretations, Martin Jones is an impressive Mendelssohn pianist who ideally balances mind and heart in these performances. His Variations Sérieuses is stern but compassionate; his Sonata in G minor is austere but expressive; and his Songs without Words are always singing but also always supremely well-wrought. The only real flaw is the sound. Recorded by Nimbus in the middle to late Seventies, Jones sounds like he's playing behind the heavy curtains while the microphones are placed in the back of a small, empty hall. Still, for first-rate performances of Mendelssohn's complete piano music, this is the set to get, despite the dreary sound. by James Leonard 
CD1 - Caprices, etc
CD2 - Piano Sonatas, Kinderstucke
CD3 - Preludes and Fugues, Etudes
CD4 - Variations, Fantasies
CD5 - Songs Without Words
CD6 - Songs Without Words, Pieces
Martin Jones - piano

FELIX & FANNY MENDELSSOHN : Piano Trios (Abegg Trio) FLAC (tracks), lossless

FELIX & FANNY MENDELSSOHN : Piano Trios 

 Abegg Trio :

Piano – Gerrit Zitterbart

Violin – Ulrich Beetz

Violoncello – Birgit Erichson

(1994) Intercord / FLAC (tracks), lossless

O Púbis da Rosa

KATHLEEN FERRIER - EDITION BOX SET (2004) 10CD / DECCA / Mp3

Although her career was tragically short, Kathleen Ferrier was among the most famous English singers of the twentieth century. Her contralto voice -- a rarity in itself -- was characterized by a firm, warm tone that found its expressive niche in the great works of oratorio and art song, as well as in her two operatic roles (only two!): Lucretia in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.

Born in Lancashire on April 22, 1912, Ferrier studied the piano with great success as a child and intended a concert career; her concurrent vocal studies were considered more recreational in nature. In her mid-20s, however, after taking two first prizes at the 1937 Carlisle Festival -- one for piano and one for singing -- she made the decision to pursue singing as her vocation. She studied with J.E. Hutchinson in Newcastle upon Tyne, then with Roy Henderson in London.

During the years of WWII Ferrier toured widely in England, gaining a reputation as an especially fine concert artist. She joined the Bach Choir in London, and was alto soloist for a 1943 performance of Handel's Messiah at Westminster Abbey. Benjamin Britten first put her on the operatic stage at Glyndebourne on July 12, 1946, in the premiere of his chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia. She then toured with the work throughout England and appeared on an historic recording of major extracts from the work conducted by the composer. Britten would later compose the alto part in his Canticle No. 2 for her.

She appeared in the United States for the first time in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the New York Philharmonic and Bruno Walter; her subsequent recording of the work -- also under Walter's direction -- remains a classic. Walter also appeared as her accompanist in lieder recitals in Edinburgh and London. Another of Ferrier's notable successes was the part of the Angel in Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius.

In February 1953, Covent Garden staged Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice specifically for Ferrier, who was deemed ideal for the part of Orpheus. However, she was able to appear in only two of the scheduled four performances because of weakness caused by her already advanced cancer. These were her last appearances; she died in London on October 8, 1953. Before she died she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.  by Rovi Staff

Tracklist

CD01 Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice

CD02 Bach St Matthew Passion

CD03 Kathleen Ferrier

CD04 Schumann-Brahms-Schubert

CD05 Chausson-Brahms-Ferguson-Wordsworth-Rubbra-Kathleen Ferrier

CD06 Purcell-Handel-Bach-Wolf-Stanford-Warlock

CD07 Historical Recordings 1947-1952

CD08 Blow the Wind Southerly - Traditional Songs

CD09 Bruno Walter - The Legendary Edinburgh Festival

CD10 Mahler-Brahms

KATHLEEN FERRIER - EDITION BOX SET

 [2004] 10CD / DECCA / CBR320 / scans

O Púbis da Rosa

THE HEIFETZ COLLECTION Vol.1 - The Acoustic Recordings 1917-1924 [RCA Gold Seal] 1994 / 3CD / FLAC

THE HEIFETZ COLLECTION Vol.1 

The Acoustic Recordings 1917-1924

[RCA Gold Seal] 1994 / FLAC

O Púbis da Rosa

MARTHA ARGERICH Edition - Chamber Music [Box Set 8CD] 2011 / FLAC

CD1 :

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827):

Violin Sonata No.9 in A major, op.94 “Kreutzer

César Franck (1822-1890):

Violin Sonata in A major

Itzhak Perlman – violin, Martha Argerich – piano

CD2 :

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Piano Quartet in C major WoO36 No.3

Clarinet Trio in B flat major, op.11

Piano Trio in D major, op.70 No.1 “Ghost”

Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849):

Intoduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, op.3

Renaud Capuçon – violin, Lida Chen – viola, Gautier Capuçon – cello, Marek Denemark – clarinet, Mark Drobinsky – cello, Mischa Maisky – cello, Martha Argerich – piano

CD3 :

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Violin Sonata No.1 in A minor, op.105

Violin Sonata No.2 in D minor, op.121

Fantasiestücke op.73 (version for flugelhorn and piano)

Märchenbilder, op.113

Géza Hosszu-Legocky – violin, Renaud Capuçon –
violin, Sergei Nakariakov – flugelhorn, Nobuko Imai – viola, Martha Argerich – piano

CD4 :

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Piano Quintet in E flat major, op.44

Piano Quartet in E flat major, op.47

Andante and Variations in B flat major for two pianos, horn and two cellos, op.46

Dora Schwarzberg – violin, Renaud Capuçon – violin, Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg – viola, Mark Drobinsky – cello, Lida Chen – viola, Gautier Capuçon – cello, Alexandre Rabinovitch – piano , Marie Luise Neunecker – horn, Natalia Gutman – cello, Mischa Maisky – cello, Martha Argerich – piano

CD5 :

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Piano Trio in G major, Hob.XV:25 “Gipsy Trio”

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)

Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, op.49

Robert Schumann (11810-1856)

Fantasiestücke, op.88

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Cello Sonata

“La plus que lente” – valse

“Minstrels” – Prélude No.12

Renaud Capuçon – violin, Gautier Capuçon – cello,
Mischa Maisky – cello, Martha Argerich – piano

CD6 :

César Franck (1822-1890)

Cello Sonata in A (transcription of the Violin Sonata)

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)

Violin Sonata No.1 Sz75

Contrasts Sz111 for violin, clarinet and piano

Mischa Maisky – cello, Renaud Capuçon – violin,
Chantal Juillet – violin, Michael Collins – clarinet, Martha Argerich – piano

CD7 :

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

Piano Quintet in G minor, op.57

Piano trio No.2 in E minor, op.67

Leoš Janáček (1854-1928)

Concertino for piano, two violins, viola, clarinet, horn and bassoon

Renaud Capuçon – violin, Allissa Margulis – violin, Lida Chen – viola, Mischa Maisky – cello, Maxim Vengerov – violin, Gautier Capuçon – cello, Lucy Hall – violin

Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg – viola, Corrado Giuffredi – clarinet, Zora Slokar – horn, Vincent Godel – bassoon, Martha Argerich – piano

CD8 :

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Piano Quintet in E flat major, op.44

Violin Sonata No.2 in D minor, op.121

Fantasiestücke, op.73

Dora Schwarzberg – violin, Lucy Hall – violin, Nobuko Imai – viola, Mischa Maisky – cello, Natalia Gutman – cello, Martha Argerich – piano

Label : EMI

O Púbis da Rosa 1

O Púbis da Rosa 2

O Púbis da Rosa 3

O Púbis da Rosa 4

O Púbis da Rosa 5

O Púbis da Rosa 6

O Púbis da Rosa 7

O Púbis da Rosa 8