Mendelssohn Op. 13 Program Notes

Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847) String Quartet in A minor, Op.13 Adagio – Allegro vivace Adagio non lento Intermezzo: Allegretto con moto – Allegro di molto Presto – Adagio non lento Though Mendelssohn was still a teenager when he wrote his A minor quartet, Op. 13, he was already an experienced composer of chamber music. He had already written a string quintet, a string octet, three piano quartets, as well as several youthful string quartets which remained unpublished. Composed in 1827 the year of Beethoven’s death, Op. 13 is one of Mendelssohn’s most mature compositions which pays tribute to the grand master, particularly to his complex late string quartets. These works were little understood and even dismissed when they first appeared but Mendelssohn studied Beethoven’s scores assiduously and his A minor quartet shows their powerful influence, evident in the advanced harmonic language, tightly knit counterpoint, recitative passages and the development of motivic fragments. One of Mendelssohn's most passionate works, the A minor Quartet is one of the earliest and most significant examples of cyclic form in music. His inspiration came from a love song titled “Frage” (“Question”) which he had written a few months earlier. It was published as Op. 9, No. 1, with a fictitious "Voss" given credit for the words: Is it true that you always wait for me there in the leafy path by the grape arbor and ask the moonlight and the little stars about me? Is it true? What I feel can only be understood by someone who feels it with me, and who will stay forever true to me. Just as Beethoven had used a three-word question as the source of inspiration in the last movement of his quartet Op.135 – “Muss es sein?” (Must it be?), so Mendelssohn draws on the question in his song as the motif for his quartet – “Ist es wahr?” (Is it true?) – and versions of this motif appear in all four movements emphasising the cyclic nature of the work. The quartet begins with a warm, richly scored, chorale-like passage that gives no hint of the emotional turmoil and contrapuntal displays about to be unleashed. Near the end of this short passage Mendelssohn twice presents the “Ist es wahr?” motif (long-short- long), exactly as it appeared at the beginning of the song. This motif plays many roles in the development of the movement, and, indeed, throughout the quartet. After the gentle reflective prologue in A major the quartet breaks into a tumultuous Allegro Vivace in sonata form in A minor. The viola introduces the main theme, and the cello presents the second subject. There is much agitation and storm in this section with all of Mendelssohn’s study of Beethoven’s quartets coming into play. The development is rich in counterpoint, and leads to an energetic coda. The pensive slow movement, marked Adagio non lento, opens and closes with a paraphrase of the “Ist es wahr?” theme. Its central, fugal segment is clearly a reference to the fugue in the middle of the slow movement of Beethoven’s Quartet in F major, Op. 95. Not only are the subjects very similar, but in both cases the viola begins the fugue and is answered by the second violin. Like the Beethoven model, the fugue goes through a series of increasingly complex variations with cross-rhythms in the different instruments to arrive at a dramatic climax. The Intermezzo movement opens with a light, gossamer theme which is quintessential Mendelssohn. This lilting theme played by the first violin, with pizzicato accompaniment in the other instruments, recalls the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, composed when Mendelssohn was just 16, as well as scherzo movements from many of his chamber works. The violin, over tremolo chords from the other players, runs through a cadenza-like passage to introduce the final Presto movement, a masterful finale. The music, fast and melodic with a driving basin line in the cello, is similar to the final movement of Beethoven's Op. 132 quartet. Towards the close the intensity subsides, the Adagio is recalled, and there is a return to the love song of the opening movement evoking quiet nostalgia. Now the cycle is complete. Full of the passionate fervour of youth, this quartet is also a work of great substance that highlights the genius of Mendelssohn. Many critics believe that he never again achieved such a high level of inspiration. Elizabeth Dalton, 2019.

Load more