Composer of the Week - Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) - Siblings and Songs

In the 1820s, the Mendelssohn household was a hive of conversational, intellectual and creative activity. Felix and his siblings, Fanny, Rebecka and Paul, shared a happy, magical childhood. Donald Macleod looks at the impact this closeness had on Felix Mendelssohn's compositions. Part of Radio 3's Composers of the Year 2009 season. Overture (A Midsummer Night's Dream) Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century Frans Bruggen (director) Glossa GCD921101 CD1 t1 Fanny Mendelssohn: When I look into your eyes Sophie Daneman (soprano) Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) Eugene Asti (piano) Hyperion CDA67388 CD1 t5 Neue Liebe/New Love Barbara Bonney (soprano) Geoffrey Parsons (piano) Teldec 2292449462 CD1 t18 Songs without Words (excerpts) Daniel Barenboim (piano) Deutsche Grammophon 2531260 CD1 t 3 & 9: CD2 T6 and 10 Cello Sonata No 2 Steven Isserlis (cello) Melvyn Tan (fortepiano) RCA 09026625532 CD1 t15-18.