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I'm amending my review (below) after hearing a live performance of the Quartet in D Major, Op. 44, no. 1 by the Tokyo String Quartet in September 2008. Paired on the program with quartets by Bartok and Haydn, the Mendelssohn compared quite favorably, and prompted me to give this collection another hearing.
My judgment is that while these are works that don't rate among the world's great quartets (those of Beethoven, Haydn, and Schubert) they are nevertheless real contributions to the medium and delightful on their own and in their own idiosnycratic way. Those who love Mendelssohn's symphonies will recognize and be please by the broad, rolling melodies and the well constructed and memorable harmonies. These are not works of brilliance, but they can be as welcome as a fine Spring day. ~ J. Boyce
There is a good reason that Mendelssohn's quartets have not become a staple of modern quartets's reparatory: there are no compelling reasons to play them.
Mostly meandering trifles, these works do not measure up well against his symphonies (in which he established himself as a truly original voice) and, when compared to Beethoven's and Schubert's quartets (both his contemporaries), these are simply minor, forgettable exercises. And they have not aged well: Schoenberg, Shostakovich, and Bartok all wrote far more interesting quartets.
As for the octet (composed at 16): the melodic line introduced in movement one and reprised in the fourth is nice enough, but it's a minor piece that as a whole has little more to recommend it. Granted, Schubert's octet (the masterpiece (D 803) for horns and strings, written only three years after Mendelssohn's) is so utterly beautiful that all other octets pale in comparison.
As for the Emerson's playing: it's first rate here. They've rarely sounded better.
My recommendation: for those looking to round out their collection, this is the set of Mendelssohn's works to buy. For those seeking an introduction to the world's great quartets: start with Beethoven's middle and late quartet's, and/or all of Schubert's. Buy this set only if you have money to burn.
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david silverberg
Mendelssohn was awesome as a prodigy
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 24, 2016
