Mendelssohn Siblings CD

” …absolutely top notch musicians, individually and as an ensemble. One of the best chamber music concerts I’ve been to for a long while.”
Graham Abbott, July 2007

Seraphim Trio is delighted to release its debut CD, Mendelssohn Siblings, featuring Felix Mendelssohn’s beloved D minor Trio alongside the flamboyant piano trio by Felix’s sister, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel.

Mendelssohn’s trio is a much-loved staple of the classical repertoire, while Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel’s trio is rarely performed. Performed side by side, the two works reveal a number of fascinating parallels, and speak to the unusual closeness these siblings shared.

After a prodigious childhood in which she was hailed as her brother’s equal, or superior, Fanny was gently nudged out of the limelight as adulthood approached:

‘Music may perhaps become [Felix’s] profession,’ wrote her father, ‘while for you it can and must only be an ornament, never the root of your being and doing.’

Felix inherited these paternal sentiments, and discouraged Fanny from publishing throughout her life (instead sneaking her pieces occasionally into his own collections). As Fanny grew older, she mustered the strength to defy him, and began publishing. She produced her Piano Trio in D minor after her early publications met with acclaim.

It is a flamboyant, virtuosic work, that is nowhere near as well-mannered Felix’s piano trios, but instead threatens to burst out of the chamber altogether, in search of a concert hall, or a public.

Seraphim Trio performed these two works together to great acclaim in its inaugural concert of its 2008 season, and presents them here together on disc for the first time.

RRP: $25

Available at:

Thomas’ Music, Melbourne
www.thomasmusic.com.au

Readings, Melbourne
http://www.readings.com.au/

Silver Keys and Strings, Adelaide
http://www.silverkeys.com.au/

Enquiries
Helen Burbery 0417 500 292