Fanny & Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Sextet, Piano Quartet, Piano Trio Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847): Sextet in D Major, Op. 110:
• 1 Mendelssohn: Sextet in D Major, Op. 110: I. Allegro vivace 11:15
• 2 Mendelssohn: Sextet in D Major, Op. 110: II. Adagio 04:22
• 3 Mendelssohn: Sextet in D Major, Op. 110: III. Menuetto 02:16
• 4 Mendelssohn: Sextet in D Major, Op. 110: IV. Allegro vivace 09:31
• Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805 - 1847): Trio in D Minor, Op. 11:
• 5 Hensel: Trio in D Minor, Op. 11: I. Allegro molto vivace 09:52
• 6 Hensel: Trio in D Minor, Op. 11: II. Andante espressivo 05:45
• 7 Hensel: Trio in D Minor, Op. 11: III. Lied 01:53
• 8 Hensel: Trio in D Minor, Op. 11: IV. Finale 05:27
• Quartet in A-Flat Major, H-U 55:
• 9 Hensel: Quartet in A-Flat Major, H-U 55: I. Allegro moderato 08:28
• 10 Hensel: Quartet in A-Flat Major, H-U 55: II. Larghetto 04:26
• 11 Hensel: Quartet in A-Flat Major, H-U 55: III. Tempo di Minuetto 04:45
• Total Runtime 01:08:00

Info for Fanny & Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Sextet, Piano Quartet, Piano Trio

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, born four years before her brother, Felix Mendelssohn, was an accomplished pianist and a prolific composer. When she died of a stroke, aged just forty-two, she left around 460 pieces of music, some 250 of which are songs. The difficulties of making a career in her own era (her supportive father would not allow her to publish or work as a ‘professional’ composer) have condemned much of her work to obscurity, a situation that is now rapidly being reversed as the number of concerts and recordings devoted to works by women composers increases.

Here the award-winning Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective champions her Piano Trio and Piano Quartet, alongside Felix Mendelssohn’s underperformed Piano Sextet. Fanny composed her Piano Quartet whilst a student, aged seventeen. In contrast, the Piano Trio was her last chamber work, written in her final year. The Piano Sextet by Felix Mendelssohn was also an early work, written in just a few short weeks in the spring of 1824. For some reason he never published the work (perhaps because of the unusual scoring), hence it became his Op.110 when published, posthumously, in 1868.

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
is a flexible ensemble of wonderful, joyful, kind, passionate musicians who can’t wait to share chamber music with you.

Like many musicians, we spend a lot of time worrying about the world - about inequality, prejudice, violence, bullying, divisive rhetoric. Chamber music has an extraordinary power to bring people together: it unites musicians as equals, and draws listeners in to its intimate, transportive world.

We love to devise creative and innovative programmes, to curate multi-concert series and residencies, and to showcase great music both familiar and lesser-known. Our diverse and brilliant team hopes also to be able to inspire and educate audiences of all generations in the joys of chamber music, and ultimately to bring a bit of happiness and unity to our currently rather fractured-seeming world.

Booklet for Fanny & Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Sextet, Piano Quartet, Piano Trio