pi%q MENDELSSOHN 8.550681 Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 Capriccio brillant, Op. 22 Rondo brillant, Op. 29 Benjamin Ffith, Piano Slavak State Philharmonic (K&ice) Robert Stankovsky, Conductor -Bartholdy (1809 - 1847) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 40 Capriccio Brillant in B Minor, Op. 22 Rondo Brillant in E Flat Major, Op. 29 FelixMendelssohn,grandsonof , thegreat Jewish thinker of the Enlightenment, was born in Hamburg in 1809, the son of a prosperous banker. His family was influential in cultural circles, and he and his sister were educated in an environment that encouraged both musical and general cultural interests. At the same time the extensive acauaintance of the Mendelssohns among artists and men of letters brought an unusual breadth of mind, a stimulus to natural curiosity. Much of Mendelssohn's childhood was passed in Berlin, where his parents moved when he wasthree, to escape Napoleonicinvasion. There he tooklessons from Goethe'smuchadmiredZelter,who introducedhim totheold poet in Weimar. Thechoiceof acareerin musicwas eventually decidedon the adviceof Cherubini, consulted bv Abraham Mendelssohn in Paris, where he was director of the conservatobe. There followed a period of further education, a Grand Tour of Europe that took him south to ltaly and north to Scotland. His professional career beaan in earnest with his amointment as aeneral director of music in Diisseldorf

Mendelssohn'ssubsequent careerwas intenseand brief. Hesettled in Leipzig as conductor of the Gewandhaus concerts, and was instrumental in establishing the Conservatorv there. Briefly lured to Berlin bv the Kina of Prussia and bv the importunity of his family, he spent an unsatisfaciory yearor so as director df the music section of the Academy of Arts, providing music for a revival of classical drama under royal encouragement. This appointment he was glad to relinquish in 1844, later returning to his old position in Leipzig, where he died in 1847. As a boy Mendelssohn had tried his hand at the composition of concertos for one ortwopianos, and had alsowritten aconcertoforpianoandviolin. In maturity hewas to writetwo pianoconcertos, the first of which, in G minor, wascomposed hurriedly, as hemade hisway back from Italy, and writtendown threedays before the first performance, on 17th October 1832 in Munich, with the composer as soloist. TheG MinorConcertoisunusual in anumberofways. Inparticular Mendelssohn dispenses with the customary orchestral exposition, as he was to do in the later Violin Concerto, allowing the orchestra amere seven bars of introduction, before the brilliant intervention of the soloist. The stormy first theme leads to a second subject that is gentler in character, experimenting in the use of less usual keys. The central development section of the movement is followed by the briefest of recapitulations, ending in a fanfare, before the pianist leads the way into the E major slow movement, which might almost be an orchestrated Song without Words. The and French horns heraldthestart of the last movement,with its reminiscences of the first, its lightness of touch and brilliance, and concluding operatic panache. The Piano Concerto in D Minorwaswrittenfor performance atthe Birmingham Festival of 1837, where Mendelssohn won further success as pianist, organist, conductor and composer, with the oratorio St. Paul. The writing of the concerto coincided with his honeymoon and itwaswith some irritationthat he found himself obliged to travel to London and to Birmingham, the city forwhich he was to write the Lobgesang and the oratorio . Theconcerto opens again with the briefest of orchestral introductions,allowing the soloist to make an immediate impression with a dramatic opening passage. Thesecond subject is introduced by the piano, making its way to the expected key of . It is the soloist who leads to the B flat major slow movement, where the first theme is entrusted to the orchestra, to be capped by the soloist with material of a more rhapsodic kind. The last movement, as economically scored as the rest of the work, allows the soloist a display of delicate brilliance in music that is thoroughly characteristic of the composer. 3 8.550681 Some have dated Mendelssohn's B minor Capriccio Brillant to 1825 or 1826, thevearof hisA Midsummer Niaht's Dream Overture. What iscertainisthat itwas peiormed during his second stay in London, in 1832. It is unusual as a single movement piece for solo piano and orchestra, no mere sketch for a future concerto. Aslow introductionleads to an Allegrocon fuoco, includingin its course amarch worthy of the Italian pilgrimsofthe Italian Svmohonv. The Rondo Brillant is dated 29th January 1834, aftera busy yearthat hadiakei him twice to London and brought a removal from Berlin to Dijsseldorf,as director of the Lower Rhine Festival. The Rondo lives up to its name in form and the descriotive adiective of its title in its brilliance, making no pretence of profundity in asiarkling hisplay. Benjamin Frith The young British pianist Benjamin Frith has had a distinguished career. A pupil of Fanny Waterman, he won, at the age of fourteen, the British National Concerto Competition, followed by theaward of the Mozart Memorial Prize and joint top prize in 1986 in the Italian Busoni International Piano Competition and in 1989a Gold Medal and First prize in the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition. Benjamin Frith enjoys a busy international career, with engagementsin the United States and throughout Europe as a soloist and recitalist, with festival appearancesatsheffield, Aldeburgh, Harrogate, Kuhmo, Bolzano, Savannah, Pasadena and Hong Kong and an Edinburgh Festival debut in 1992. His recordingsinclude a highly praised performance of Beethoven's Diabelli Variationson the ASV (Photo by Fritz Curzon) ' label and for Naxos a release of piano music by Schumann, followed by the two Mendelssohn Piano Concertos and the Third Piano Concerto of Rachmaninov. Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra (KoSice) The East Slovakian town of KoSice boasts a long and distinguished musical tradition, as part of a province that once provided Vienna with musicians. The State Philharmonic Orchestra is of relatively recent origin and was established in 1968 under the conductor Bystrik ~ezucha.subsequent principal conductors have included Stanislav Macura and Ladislav Slovak. the latter succeeded in 1985 by his pupil Richard Zimmer. he orchestra has toured widely in Eastern and Western Europe and plays an important part in the KoSice Musical Spring and the KoSice International Organ Festival. For Marco Polo the orchestra has made the first compact disc recordings of rare works by Granville Bantock and Joachim Raff. Writing on the last of these, one critic praised the orchestra for its competence comparable to that of the major of Vienna and Prague. The orchestra has contributed many successful volumes to the complete compact disc Johann Strauss II and for Naxos has recorded a varied repertoire.

Robert Stankovsky Robert Stankovskywas born in Bratislava,the capital of Slovakia, in 1964, and afterachildhood spent in thestudy of the piano, recorder, oboeandclarinet, turned his attention, at the age of fourteen, toconducting, graduating in this and in piano at the Bratislava Conservatory with the title of best graduate of the year. Stankovsky is regarded as one of the best conductors of the younger generation in Czecho-Slovakia. For Marco Polo Stankovskv has recorded svm~honiesbv Rubinstein and Miaskovsky in addition to orchestral works by dvoiak and Smetana. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Klavierkonzerte . Capriccio. Rondo Felix Mendelssohn war - wie seine Schwester Fanny - ein musikalisches Wunderkind. Daswirddie Familienmitgliederkaumuberrascht haben, findet man doch in den Chroniken der Mendelssohns eine Reihe groOer Geister, die auf verschiedenen Gebieten von sich reden gemacht haben. Der Sohn Felixwirdam3. Februar 1809geboren. Schonals Neunjahrigertritt eroffentlich auf, und auch als Komponist wird er im jugendlichen Alteraktiv: unter anderem finden wir in seinem Fruhwerk eine Serie von elf Svmuhonien fur Streichorchester, ein erstesViolinkonzert und ein ~o~~elkonze~fiir~lavierund I Violine sowie einiges an uberaus reizvoller Kammermusik. Als Felix Mendelssohn am 4. November 1847 an einem Gehirnschlag stirbt, hinterla0t er ein immenses Gesamtschaffen, das so ziemlich alle Gattungen enthalt, mit denen sich ein Komponist seiner Zeit auseinandersetzen konnte: Oratorien, Buhnenwerke, funf Svmuhonien fur aroBes Orchester. Konzerte. Klaviermusik, ~uartette-kurzumeihenormes pensum, das noch mehrbeeindruckt; wenn man die Europa-Reisen und die Tatigkeit als Dirigent (unter anderem in Dusseldorf und beim Leipziger Gewandhausorchester)in Anrechnung bringt. Daserste groOere Konzertfur Klavier und Orchesterg-moll op. 25 entstand im Jahre 1831in Munchen. Mendelssohn nannteesselbstein"schnellhingeworfenes Ding", ein Attribut, das manvielleichtfurden musikalischen Inhalt, nicht aberfur die formale Gestaltung gelten lassen kann. Denn dieses Werkist eine Synthese

I ausdem traditionelldreisatzigen Konzertypusunddem einsatzigen Konzertstuck, I dessen bis dato beruhmtestesvon Carl Mariavon ~ebergeschaffen wurde. Mit andern Worten: Das erste Klavierkonzert OD. 25 ist zualeich durchaehend und dreiteilig geschrieben -eine Losung, die bis ins20. ~ah;hundertihreiachahmer gefunden hat. 1837 beginnt Felix Mendelssohn mit der Arbeit an einem zweiten Konzert, nachdem er langere Zeit nach einer neuen ldee fur diese Besetzung gesucht hatte. Deutlicherkennt man die groOe Entwicklung, die derinzwischen 26jahrige Komponist durchgemacht hat; besonders die Anleihen bei den Meistern der KlassikfalleninsOhr-etwadieaus Beethovensfiinftem Klavierkonzertabgeleiteten Kadenzenzu Beainn des Konzertsoderder unvermittelte ljberaanavom ersten ~atzzum~da~i;Der ~om~onistselbstwaroffenbarvernarrtiidas humorvolle Finale: "Das Konzed wird nicht sehr besonders als Komposition," schreibt er seiner Schwester Fanny, "aber das letzte Stuck macht soviel Effekt als Klavierfeuennrerk,daOichoftlachen muO undcecile [dieGattin] esnichtoftgenug horen kann." Das Capriccio brillant h-mollop. 22 aus der Zeit des ersten Klavierkonzerts und das Rondo brillant Es-durop. 29 reprasentieren eine neue Art des Konzertstucks. die man imvergleichmitden beiden groBeren ~onzertenalsm~inlage" bezeichnen konnte. Das Capriccioahnelt in mancher Hinsicht noch denvorganger-Modellen von Carl MariavonWeberund Johann NepomukHummel; das Rondo hingegen bewegtsichauf der HohedesZeitgeschmacks,indem essichden Anstrich eines jener Jagdstiicke gibt, die damals uberaus beliebt waren. 0 1993 Cris Posslac Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Concertos pour piano NO1 Op. 25 et NO2 Op. 40 Capriccio brillant Op. 22 - Rondo brillant Op. 29 La posterite n'a pas retenu les Concertos de Mendelssohncomme elle a pu le faire pour ceux de Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt ou Rachmaninov, faisant subir a ces oeurvres le m6me et injuste sort que les pages concertantes de virtuoses-compositeurs comme Field, Hummel, Moscheles ou Thalberg. Voila qui est particulierement injuste, compareau succesdes oeuvres pour lesquelles le nom de Mendelssohn est demeure grave dans les memoires de tous les melomanes (on se souviendra du Songe d'une nuit d'ete, des Romances sans paroles ou des Symphonies "ltalienne" ou "Ecossaise'). Et I'on ne citera pas le nombreconsiderabledesesoeuvresquitemoignent a lafoisde la placeimmense qu'eut le musicien en son temps, par sa position d'interprete tant de sa propre musique que decelles qu'ilfit redecouvrir (Bach surtout, mais egalement Mozart ou~chubert),en m~metempsquedecompositeuralanatures~articuli~re,d'un classicismedesentiment horsdeson siecle, et d'un modernismeaffirmeauoiaue souvent trop bien cache, ayant engendre un dualisme souvent ma1 com'pris.' Cette double nature s'illustre deja parfaitement dans ce ler Conceflo, Op. 25 cree a Munich le 17 octobre 1831, qui consacre le classicisme des sentiments, tout en faisant eclatercelui de la forme. Dote de trois mouvements enchainesvif- lent-vif (ceci afin d'eviter que le public n'applaudisse entre les mouvements comme il etait de coutume a I'epoque), il etrenne une formule participant a une cohesion structurelle tres marquee, que Liszt reprendra a son compte pour ses propres Concertos, bien des annees plus tard. Mais il temoigne surtout d'une sensibilite a lafois nerveuse et pudique, d'une maturitecertainevenantdela part d'un jeune homme de vingt-deux ans, particulierement dans un Andanteou se trouve dejace leger balancementm6le de recueillementdesdernieres Romances sans paroles. D'une creativite plus marquee, le 2e Concerto, Op. 40, avait pourtant ete ecrit a la hAte pour le festival de Birmingham de septembre 1837, au cours duquel ~endelssohndevait surtout dirigersonoratorio Paulus. Tout aussi inventiveque IeConcerto arecedent. I'oeuvre n'etaittenueparson auteurauedansune estime tres moyenn'e, etant unsimple moyen des'atti;erlesfti.*eursd; public britannique, ainsi qu'il I'ecrivaitasasoeur Fanny: "Le Concerto nesera pas bien remarquable en tantqu'oeuvre, mais ledernier passage, veritablefeu d'artifice pianistique,fait tant d'effet que je ne puis souvent m'empbcherd'en rirre...". Reprenant pourtant cette techniquedesmouvementsenchaines qui avaitfait lacohesiondu precedent Concerto, il inn~verae~alementsurleplan harmonique, particulierement dans un Adagiocentral, d'un raredepouillementmelodique, etd'une grand* economie de moyens. A cBte de ces Concertos de grande ampleur se trouvent, dans I'oeuvre de Mendelssohn, deux pages de taille plus modeste, que sont le Capricciobrillant, Op. 22, et le Rondo brillant, Op. 29, datant respectivementde 1832 et 1834. Leur qualificatif commun ne doit pas en dissimuler la finesse d'inspiration, sensible malgre cettevirtuositeintentionnelle, et la forme sonate puuissamment construite. Schumann lui-mbme ne s'v etait guere trompe, qui se declarait subiu~uepar de tellesoeuvres, etNpar~'effe~irresi~tibledescom~~sitionsde ~endelssohn quand il lesjoueluimbme-:lesdoigtsnesont 1aquedessoutiensquipourraienttoutaussi bien rester caches :I'oreilleseuledoit recueillir I'harmonie, et lecoeur en decider. Je me dis souvent que Mozart devait jouer ainsi". De la part d'un tel styliste, I'hommage est de taille, et pourrait bien remettre en question la vague condescendance dans laquelle notre siecle a tenu ces deux pariitions. 01993 Etienne Moreau Other MENDELSSOHN Works on Naxos Cello Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2 /Variations concertantesl Songs Without Words, Op. 109

Songs Without Words Vol. 1

Songs Without Words Vol. 2

Symphony No. 3 "Scottish" 1 Ruy Blas IHebrides ICalm Sea 8.550222

Symphony No. 4 "Italian"/ Midsummer Night's Dream (excerpt)

Violin Concerto (+ TCHAIKOVSKY)

MENDELSSOHN Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 Playing Capriccio brillant, Op. 22 Rondo brillant, Op. 29 Time : Benjamin Frith, Piano 70'30" Slavak State Philharmonic Orchestra (KoBce) Robert Stankovsky, Conductor I Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 6M Molto allegro eon fuoco (7:49) t' V1 Andante (6:34) 8 Presto (6:58) Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 40 Allegro appassionato Adagio - Molto sostenuto F'inale: Presto scherzando Capriccio brillant in B Minor, Op. 22 P Rondo brillant in E Flat Major, Op. 29 (11:41) CI -- &' Reconled at the Hmrse of Arts in KoSice from 27th to 30th Aptil, 1992 ('Tracks 1 io 6) and on 13th and 14th Seprcmbcr, 1992 ('Tracks 7 and 8). Ruducer: Rudolf HentJel Deutscher Text I Engineer: Gejza Topercrer Texte en franpis Music Notes: Keith Anderson I Covet Painting: Lake Trnua and Onh Castle by F. O. Waldmiiner I