Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A Charmed Childhood | 20061030 | Felix Mendelssohn grew up in a wealthy, privileged environment. His musical prodigy was nurtured by his parents and a series of distinguished teachers, resulting in a prolific number of accomplished works by the age of 16. Donald Macleod explores Mendelssohn's formative years, leading up to an unprecedented chamber masterpiece, the Octet in E flat. Leicht und luftig (Seven Characteristic Pieces), Op 7 No 7 Benjamin Frith (piano) String Symphony No 1 Concerto Köln Bogy's Aria (Die Beiden Pädagogen) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (bass-baritone) Munchener Rundfunkorchester Heinz Wallberg (conductor) Octet in E flat, Op 20 Royal String Quartet Psophos Quartet. |
| 01 | A Charmed Childhood | 20061030 | Felix Mendelssohn grew up in a wealthy, privileged environment. His musical prodigy was nurtured by his parents and a series of distinguished teachers, resulting in a prolific number of accomplished works by the age of 16. Donald Macleod explores Mendelssohn's formative years, leading up to an unprecedented chamber masterpiece, the Octet in E flat. Leicht und luftig (Seven Characteristic Pieces), Op 7 No 7 Benjamin Frith (piano) String Symphony No 1 Concerto Köln Bogy's Aria (Die Beiden Pädagogen) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (bass-baritone) Munchener Rundfunkorchester Heinz Wallberg (conductor) Octet in E flat, Op 20 Royal String Quartet Psophos Quartet. |
| 02 | Siblings And Songs | 20061031 | In the 1820s, the Mendelssohn household was a hive of conversational, intellectual and creative activity. Felix and his siblings, Fanny, Rebecka and Paul, shared a happy childhood. Donald Macleod looks at the impact this closeness had on Mendelssohn's compositions. A Midsummer Night's Dream - overture Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century Frans Brüggen (director) Fanny Mendelssohn: When I look into your eyes Sophie Daneman (soprano) Sarah Connolly (mezzo) Eugene Asti (piano) Neue Liebe Barbara Bonney (soprano) Geoffrey Parsons (piano) Songs without Words (excerpts) Daniel Barenboim (piano) Cello Sonata No 2 Steven Isserlis (cello) Melvyn Tan (fortepiano). |
| 03 | The Composer's Voice: Private Passions | 20061101 | Away from the family home, Mendelssohn took inspiration for his music from women, wine and the wild wonder of Fingal?s Cave. With a strong romantic spirit, he composed works of great passion, often in the intimate world of chamber music. Rondo Capriccioso, Op 14 Murray Perahia (piano) Hebrides Overture, Op 26 Scottish Chamber Orchestra Joseph Swensen Ersatz für Unbestand Lob der Trunkenheit Die Singphoniker Piano Trio No 1 in D minor, Op 49 Isaac Stern (violin) Leonard Rose (cello) Eugene Istomin (piano). |
| 04 | Revivals, Revisions And Religion | 20061102 | Throughout his life Mendelssohn championed the music of his predecessors, including a remarkable revival of Bach's St Matthew Passion in 1829. Donald Macleod investigates this driving force, as well as Mendelssohn's obsessive revisions of his own compositions. O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde gross (Bach: St Matthew Passion, arr. Mendelssohn) Chorus Musicus Das Neue Orchester Christoph Spering (conductor) Prelude and Fugue in E minor, Op 35 Benjamin Frith (piano) Symphony No 4 (Italian) (Revised 1834 version with first movement from original version) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra John Eliot Gardiner (conductor) Thanks be to God! (Elijah) Edinburgh Festival Chorus David Jones (chorus master) Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Paul Daniel (conductor). |
| 05 LAST | The Eclipse Of Music | 20061103 | Mendelssohn's death was described as the eclipse of music, yet the posthumous attitude to his music has often been derogatory. Donald Macleod concludes his series on Mendelssohn?s short life by charting his demise, from the death of his beloved sister Fanny to his own death in 1847 and the remarkable legacy he left, exemplified by his Violin Concerto. Fanny Mendelssohn: Bergeslust, Op 10 No 5 Susan Gritton (soprano) Eugene Asti (piano) String Quartet in Fm, Op 80 Melos Quartet Violin Concerto in Em, Op 64 Nikolaj Znaider Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Zubin Mehta (conductor). |