Mendelssohn: String Quintets Bartholdy Quintett

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847): String Quintet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 18:
• 1 Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 18: I. Allegro con moto 10:45
• 2 Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 18: II. Intermezzo. Andante sostenuto 07:28
• 3 Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 18: III. Scherzo. Allegro di molto 04:17
• 4 Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 18: IV. Allegro vivace 05:52
• 5 Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 18: III. Minuetto. Allegro molto (Original Manuscript version, 3rd Movement of Op. 18) 04:14
• String Quintet No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 87:
• 6 Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 87: I. Allegro vivace 09:12
• 7 Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 87: II. Allegretto scherzando 03:53
• 8 Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 87: III. Adagio e lento 08:50
• 9 Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 87: IV. Allegro molto vivace 05:03
• 10 Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 87: IV. Allegro molto vivace (First Printed Edition, 4th Movement of Op. 87) 05:36
• Total Runtime 01:05:10

Info for Mendelssohn: String Quintets

In February 2009, on a date very close to the celebration of Mendelssohn’s 200th birthday, we got together for the first time in a quintet lineup in order to perform a small concert in the form of a public rehearsal. The repertoire was rapidly chosen: it had to include at least one piece by Mendelssohn. After that successful experiment, we spontaneously decided upon the composer’s second surname for our new quintet.……..

A further inherent challenge lies in those aforementioned “spontaneous chamber music parties”: the two Mendelssohn quintets are simply too difficult to be treated off-handedly. In an insufficiently rehearsed B Flat Major Quintet, for instance, the main parts remain indistinguishable amidst a tumult of sixteenth notes. Performers can become entangled in the challenging virtuoso polyphony of the A Major Quintet’s last movement. In the Scherzo, there is a tiptoe spiccato balancing act that can cause insufficiently prepared performers to tumble head over heals into the chasm (even if the second viola manages to avoid loss of face in the first eight solo measures).)…..

In Mendelssohn’s case, the time between a finished composition and its subsequent publication could occasionally span several years; he frequently introduced significant changes, including cuts. The reasons for such changes are often no longer clear to us today. In certain cases it is not even clear whether Mendelssohn himself was responsible for the changes, or if they were made with his approval or not. The fundamental dilemma in working with these sources is that one has to give priority either to the autograph manuscript or to the first printed edition.

We have decided to record these works following Mendelssohn’s manuscript, thereby avoiding all cuts. As an alternative, however, we have included the later version of the finale of the B Flat Major Quintet, which was possibly not altered by Mendelssohn himself, but by Julius Rietz – a version which many connoisseurs will still have “in their inner ear”. We also find it quite beautiful. Decide for yourselves!

We find our musical fountain of youth in the works we rehearse as a quintet and the way we approach them. In a climate of mutual trust and familiarity, we find true joy in uncovering new aspects in works with which we were already well acquainted. Geographically we hail from many different corners of Germany; without a “marriage certificate” (as would be required from each one of us if we were a string quartet), we are able to participate in this experience together with a great degree of individual freedom. As good friends, we can communicate with one another on a profound musical level, thus making our ideal of music-making a reality. (from the booklet notes)

Bartholdy Quintett: Ulf Schneider, violin
Anke Dill, violin
Barbara Westphal, viola
Volker Jacobsen, viola
Gustav Rivinius, cello

Bartholdy Quintett


Anke Dill born in Stuttgart, studied violin with Nora Chastain, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Yair Kless and Donald Weilerstein. The violinist, who has won numerous prizes, performs as a soloist and chamber musician in a wide variety of formations throughout Europe, Japan, China and America. In 2004 she was appointed professor of violin at the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart. She also gives master classes for violin in Lenk (Switzerland), Radolfzell and Kirchheim.

Ulf Schneider studied with Jens Ellermann, Felix Galimir and Thomas Zehetmair. With the Trio Jean Paul, which he founded, he was 1st prize winner at the international chamber music competitions in Osaka, Melbourne and Bonn. Extensive concert activity as a duo, with his trio and quintet, as well as collaborations with actors in Music & Word programmes, take him regularly to the well-known concert series and festivals in Europe, North and South America and Australia. He teaches as a professor at the Musikhochschule in Hanover.

Barbara Westphal studied with Itzhak Perlman and Michael Tree (Guarneri Quartet). She is an ARD prize winner for solo viola and a Busch prize winner. From 1978 to 1985, as a member of the Delos Quartet (USA), she was first prize winner at the International Competition for String Quartets in Colmar (France, 1981), with whom she not only performed internationally, but also made many radio recordings and records. She performs worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician. Barbara Westphal's numerous solo recordings document her ability and versatility. She is a professor at the Musikhochschule Lübeck.

Volker Jacobsen studied at the Musikhochschule Lübeck with Prof. Barbara Westphal. He became intensively involved in chamber music at an early age and founded the Artemis Quartet in 1989, of which he was a member until 2007. After winning first prizes at the ARD Competition and the Premio Paolo Borciani, Volker Jacobsen developed an outstanding career as a member of the quartet, which took him to all the major international stages. CDs as well as two films by the director Bruno Monsaigeons were produced. This work has been honoured by numerous prizes. He was professor of chamber music at the Berlin University of the Arts as well as the Chapelle musicale Reine Elisabeth in Brussels. Since 2007 he has held a professorship for viola at the Hanover University of Music and Drama.

Gustav Rivinius In 1990 Gustav Rivinius was the only German musician to be awarded the first prize and the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Since then he has performed with numerous renowned orchestras at home and abroad. In addition to his solo performances, Gustav Rivinius is passionate about chamber music. He regularly performs with colleagues such as Lars Vogt, Christian Tetzlaff, Antje Weithaas and Sharon Kam and has founded the Trio Gasparo da Salò, the Bartholdy String Quintet and the Tammuz Piano Quartet. In addition to interpreting the standard repertoire, the artist devotes himself intensively to contemporary music. Gustav Rivinius holds a professorship at the Hochschule für Musik Saar.