Fanny & Felix
Piano Trios op. 11 (Fanny Hensel) & op. 66 (Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy)
Trio Vivente
Jutta Ernst — piano
Anne Katharina Schreiber — violin / violon
Kristin von der Goltz — violoncelle
“Fanny & Felix” has been released in Mendelssohn anniversary year as a homage to the sibling’s affection for each other, which was above all marked by their devotion to music. There was hardly one of Mendelssohn’s composition about which his sister did not offer her critical appraisal. And conversely, Felix admired his sister for her talent and wealth of ideas, even if he disapproved of her efforts to publish her own compositions.
Fanny Hensel’s D-Minor Piano Trio appears to be a self-confident answer to the immediately preceding C-Minor Trio by her celebrated brother. It seems as if Fanny had actively taken up her brother’s challenge and countered with something profoundly related to it and yet entirely her own. Trio Vivente successfully presents a telling juxtaposition of the two piano trios that in terms of their expressivity complement and intertwine and, at the same time, distance themselves from one another.
Fanny Hensel (1805–1847): Trio op. 11 d-Moll
1 Allegro molto vivace [10:16]
2 Andante espressivo [5:42]
3 Lied. Allegretto [1:57]
4 Finale. Allegro moderato [5:33]
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847): Trio op. 66 c-Moll
5 Allegro energico e con fuoco [9:45]
6 Andante espressivo [6:51]
7 Scherzo. Molto allegro quasi presto [3:33]
8 Finale. Allegro appassionato [7:27]
