Mendelssohn vs. Schumann

[kyjo]

Man, this is really a tough choice for me. I'm not a massive fan of either composer, but I enjoy their music more than I may have previously indicated. I guess I'll go with Mendelssohn. His music sounds so effortless yet not detached. Schumann can't always escape a certain "stodginess" in his music, but I hold his Symphonies 3 and 4, PC, and most of his chamber music in highest regard. But Mendelssohn's music is so overflowing with life, vitality and freshness, so I'll have to cast my vote in favor of him.

[mn dave]

Schumann is more up my alley. Mendelssohn doesn't usually do much for me.

[Brahmsian]

Not even a close one for me.  I prefer Schumann.

[Mirror Image]

Schumann unequivocally for me. I love all of his works for piano and orchestra, almost all of the chamber music I've heard, the Cello Concerto, the four symphonies, among others. For me, I just prefer the darker, more troubled sound-world of Schumann and Mendelssohn just doesn't dig deep enough into the soul for my tastes.

[kyjo]

Dang it, John! You're making me wish I had voted for Schumann!

[mn dave]

Schumann unequivocally for me. I love all of his works for piano and orchestra, almost all of the chamber music I've heard, the Cello Concerto, the four symphonies, among others. For me, I just prefer the darker, more troubled sound-world of Schumann and Mendelssohn just doesn't dig deep enough into the soul for my tastes.

Yep.

[TheGSMoeller]

I'm going with Bob.

[kyjo]

Surprised to see Felix get so little love!

[Sammy]

Schumann unequivocally for me. I love all of his works for piano and orchestra, almost all of the chamber music I've heard, the Cello Concerto, the four symphonies, among others. For me, I just prefer the darker, more troubled sound-world of Schumann and Mendelssohn just doesn't dig deep enough into the soul for my tastes.

Nobody has yet mentioned Schumann's solo piano works which, to me, are far more compelling than anything Mendelssohn composed.  So it's Schumann in a landslide.

[mn dave]

Nobody has yet mentioned Schumann's solo piano works which, to me, are far more compelling than anything Mendelssohn composed.  So it's Schumann in a landslide.

Yep, that too.

[Sammy]

Surprised to see Felix get so little love!

I'm confident his numbers will go up soon.  Based on my perception of general consensus, the vote will be quite close.

[Mirror Image]

Dang it, John! You're making me wish I had voted for Schumann!

Well, I've never been much of a Mendelssohn anyway.

[Mirror Image]

Nobody has yet mentioned Schumann's solo piano works which, to me, are far more compelling than anything Mendelssohn composed.  So it's Schumann in a landslide.

True, what little of Schumann's solo piano music I've heard was beautiful and masterful.

[Mirror Image]

Surprised to see Felix get so little love!

Why?

[amw]

Well, this isn't a totally fair poll from my perspective. Schumann's music is very important to me—I'm thinking particularly of the piano music from Opus 1 to (roughly) 22, the songs, and the chamber music. I relate very strongly to his compositional concerns and ways of writing, the constant undercurrent streak of darkness, the fear of madness and so on and so forth. I flatter myself by thinking he is the kind of composer I might have become had I been born in his time period/social class/gender/etc—the "mirror" whose music always seems to reflect aspects of my own. Mendelssohn is... a composer whose music I quite enjoy.

At the same time, of all living composers, Mendelssohn was probably the one Schumann held in highest esteem, even to the point of toning down the more consciously experimental aspects of his style later in life and turning from piano music and lieder to choral, chamber and orchestral music to imitate him. Mendelssohn's music has been out of fashion for quite a while, so it is more difficult to appreciate objectively with the weight of so many years of criticism hanging over it, but I imagine developing an understanding of Mendelssohn is key to unlocking greater appreciation of Schumann's later music (which has often been dismissed as weaker by commentators). I suspect I'm further behind on this than many people, since I'm still not familiar with most of Mendelssohn's mature work (indeed sometimes it seems I rarely listen to anything Mendelssohn wrote after the age of eighteen), but the string quartet in F minor is probably a good place to start.

[North Star]

Mendelssohn wrote some wonderful music, but Schumann's oeuvre is overwhelming compared to that - the solo piano works, the chamber music, the cello, piano, and violin concertos, the symphonies, the songs are all in another class to me.

[The new erato]

Not even close. Schumann. His work is so much more challenging, experimental and personal than Mendelssohn's relatively safe and traditional (with a couple of exceptions) works.

[Lisztianwagner]

I extremely like Mendelssohn's symphonies and Violin Concerto, but Schumann's music can touch me much more, it's absolutely beautiful and powerful.

[DavidW]

I find Mendelssohn's string quintets to be superior to all of Schumann's chamber works.  While Schumann's piano works are superior to Mendelssohn, I am not a piano person I'm a a chamber person which is why I voted for Mendelssohn.

[Brahmsian]

I find Mendelssohn's string quintets to be superior to all of Schumann's chamber works.  While Schumann's piano works are superior to Mendelssohn, I am not a piano person I'm a a chamber person which is why I voted for Mendelssohn.

Interesting, David.  Schumann's Piano Trios are currently my absolute favourites in that genre.