2009 Being Mendelssohn: Disc 1 Choose Quantity

No composer exercised a more formative influence on Mendelssohn than Johann Sebastian Bach, whose musical integration of formal perfection and expressive ideal would guide Mendelssohn throughout his creative life. Of especial importance to the young Mendelssohn was the discovery and rigorous study of Bach’s masterful fugues. Disc I traces the illustrious musical lineage from Bach, through Mozart, to Mendelssohn, who deeply absorbed the lessons from his musical forebears. The disc culminates in the Mendelssohn Sextet, the beginning of the young composer’s journey into the Romantic era.