String Quartet in F minor, Op.80 (urtext, parts) by Felix Mendelssohn
Urtext edition by Ernst Herttrich. Published by Henle
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) is one of the most important German composers of the Romantic era. He was most comfortable composing in a charming, relatively conservative style influenced by the Classical period and free from many of the developing trends of the Romantic Era, while incorporating important innovations in many works. He also held a singular position in German musical life as the founder of the Leipzig Conservatory, a prominent conductor of the renowned Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and a seminal figure in the revival of the music and legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Mendelssohn wrote his String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op.80 in 1847, just two months before his death at age 38. Believed to be an homage to his sister Fanny after her own death that year, it is one of his darkest, stormiest, and most intense works, starkly different from the genial, charming works that characterize much of his other output. This striking late work is presented in this excellent Henle urtext edition, with critical commentary and historical background. Parts only. Advanced level, Grade 5.
