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COMPLETE STRING QUARTETS 33
Mendelssohn’s amazing
opus 81
comprises four pieces for string quartet:
an
Andante in E major
(no. 1; 1847), a
Scherzo in A minor
(no. 2; also 1847), a
Capriccio in E minor
(no. 3; 1843), and a
Fugue in E flat major
(no. 4; 1827). The
publisher Julius Rietz brought these four independent scores together as opus
81 in 1850. This somewhat inept compilation nevertheless has the advantage
of presenting four small gems, each very different in character, although they
do not form a coherent whole. The first two pieces (
Andante and Scherzo
) were
nevertheless originally intended for a String Quartet that never materialised.
Fanny’s death no doubt explains why Mendelssohn abandoned that work
and composed instead his
String Quartet in F minor
.
The
Andante in E major
consists of a remarkably dense and expressive set
of variations (
tema con variazioni
). In its virtuosity, this piece reminds us
somewhat of Haydn.The Scherzo is inspired by the elfinworld that commonly
appeared in music throughout the Romantic period. The very dense
chromaticism of this short piece calls to mind the harmonic development
of Wagner’s great orchestral phrases. The
Capriccio in E minor
, comprising a
prelude, followed by a fugue, is in the spirit of a
Lied ohneWorte
(song without
words), a poetic miniature of which Mendelssohn composed several for the
piano. The
Fugue
is a brilliant exercise and a direct tribute to the classical style
that Mendelssohn appreciated more than any other.