Top 5 Mendelssohn Works

[Brian]

So glad to see people responding about the piano Preludes & Fugues Op. 35. Many of Mendelssohn's piano and chamber works deserve better repute...Op. 35 certainly belongs in that category and deserves more recording attention, too.

[kyjo]

Angst in music is hugely overrated but if one wants melancholy, nostalgia and bittersweetness experienced and expressed within an essentially healthy and happy outlook, Mendelssohn has aplenty.

Actually, he is a victim (one of many, actually) of the persistent and pernicious myth that music which is not Angst-ridden, sorrowful and tragic is somehow less worthy or interesting than music which is.

Very much agree!

[amw]

F major, perhaps?

Only the introduction is in F major; the rest of the symphony is in F minor, so F major is kind of a mislabelling. But yeah. That one.

Also, the fugue in E minor from Op. 35 probably should be on my list.

[Brian]

Only the introduction is in F major; the rest of the symphony is in F minor, so F major is kind of a mislabelling. But yeah. That one.

Also, the fugue in E minor from Op. 35 probably should be on my list.

Thanks, listening to it today. Had to go with the way those internet streaming pedants file it, so I wanted to be sure.

The E minor is the best part of Op. 35 in my book, too.

[Todd]

Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt
Violin Concerto
Symphony No 4
Octet
Lieder Ohne Worte (cheating, I know)

[Karl Henning]

So glad to see people responding about the piano Preludes & Fugues Op. 35. Many of Mendelssohn's piano and chamber works deserve better repute...Op. 35 certainly belongs in that category and deserves more recording attention, too.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

[Jo498]

Todd mentioned the 4th great ouverture (quasi symphonic poem) that tends to get overlooked in favor of Hebrides, Midsummer night's dream and Melusina. There are a few more, not quite as convincing, but still fun, e.g. "Ruy Blas"

Some fairly major chamber works that are not well known are the 2nd piano trio (which is about as good as the first but far less popular), the string quartets op.44 (some movements are a little on the flashy side) and the mature violin sonata F major (from 1838, not published by the composer but he didn't like his "Reformation symphony" either...)
Besides his oratorios, Mendelssohn was also an important composer of a cappella and smaller scale choral music, both sacred and secular.