Mendelssohn Philippe Cassard

• Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy(1809-1847):
• 1 Songs without Words, Op. 19, No. 1 in E Major: Andante con moto 03:13
• 2 Songs without Words, Op. 62, No. 6 in A Major: "Frühlingslied" 02:33
• 3 Songs without Words, Op. 19, No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor: "Piano agitato" 03:08
• 4 Songs without Words, Op. 67, No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor: "Leggiero" 02:04
• 5 Sonntagslied, S. 547/2 in A Major 02:17
• 6 Songs without Words, Op. 62, No. 5 in A Minor: "Venetianisches Gondellied" 02:46
• 7 Songs without Words, Op. 102, No. 5 in A Major: "Kinderstück" 01:18
• 8 Six songs, Op. 71, No. 6 in E Major: "Nachtlied" 02:53
• Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (1805-1847):
• 9 Lied, Op. 6, No. 2 in B Major: Allegro vivace 04:32
• 10 Songs without Words, Op. 62, No. 3 in E Minor: "Funeral March" 03:00
• 11 Songs without Words, Op. 67, No. 4 in C Major: "Spinning Song" 01:51
• 12 Songs without Words, Op. 53 in F Major: Adagio 03:06
• 13 Songs without Words, Op. 67, No. 3 in B-Flat Major: Andante tranquillo 02:49
• 14 Songs without Words, Op. 53, No. 2 in E-Flat Major: "Innig" 02:23
• 15 Songs without Words, Op. 38, No. 2 in C Minor: Andante 02:18
• 16 Songs without Words, Op. 38, No. 6 in A-Flat Major: "Duetto" 03:15
• Total Runtime 43:26

Info for Mendelssohn

When Felix Mendelssohn published his Melodies for the pianoforte with Novello in London in 1832, Robert Schumann had just published his Papillons and Frédéric Chopin, his Études op.10 and first mazurkas, while Franz Liszt was just beginning to compose his Album d’un voyageur, which would in due course serve as inspiration for Années de pèlerinage. Such musical diversity in such a short space of time reflects the extraordinary creative effervescence of the early Romantic period due to the influence of Beethoven and the improved great pianos made by Graf in Vienna, Broadwood in England and Érard and Pleyel in France. Despite the different paths taken by these musicians and the pianistic techniques they invented, aesthetic similarities do on occasion appear, symbolising a certain commonality in their sources of inspiration and expressive lyricism. Did Mendelssohn pioneer the “miniature” genre for piano? He was clearly one of the first to create a poetic universe in which the melody and accompaniment feature similar musical ideas. Beethoven had already tried this with, for example, the Adagio cantabile in the Sonata Pathétique, as had Schubert with some of his Moments Musicaux D.780. As for Mendelssohn, he condensed the “moment” into an “instant” and, having established the idea (perhaps as a result of his own virtuoso improvisation), he fashioned a kind of finely crafted little delight out of it. In this sense, the English title “Melodies for the pianoforte” is ideal for these “Lieder ohne Worte”, the title under which Bonn publisher Nikolaus Simrock released them, as was the more questionable title “Romances sans paroles” [Songs Without Words] which was nevertheless approved by Mendelssohn himself in an 1843 letter written in French to his Lyon publisher. Whether with or without words, Mendelssohn’s lieder often had identical forms: a short, understated theme wrapped up in a highly personalised pianistic formula. Each lied has its own character and writing. The melodic imagination which feeds into the eight books of “Romances” is gushing and constantly evolving, reflecting the spontaneity of Mendelssohn’s creative energy. It evokes a wealth of authentic emotions which reflect the ambivalence of the oft-tormented musician who experienced elation as well as melancholy, like a kaleidoscope of his thoughts. …

Philippe Cassard, piano

Philippe Cassard
has established an international reputation as concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician since giving a joint recital with Christa Ludwig in Paris in 1985. The same year he was finalist at the Clara Haskil Competition and in 1988 he won the First Prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition.

His concerto appearances include performances with the London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and BBC Wales, Orchestre National de France... He has worked with many conductors including Sir Neville Marriner, Jeffrey Tate, Vladimir Fedossejev, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Raymond Leppard, Charles Dutoit, Armin Jordan, Marek Janowski, Emmanuel Krivine, Thierry Fischer…

His performance of the complete piano works of Debussy (four recitals in a single day) received extremely enthusiastic press and media coverage. He has presented the cycle in London Wigmore Hall, Dublin, Paris, Lisbon, Sydney, Singapore and Tokyo. His Debussy's recordings published by Decca have been awarded Grand Prix du Disque Français in 1994. He also visits China, Australia, South America and Canada regulary.

Philippe plays also a huge repertoire of chamber music, and he appearead with such artists as Natalie Dessay, Angelika Kirchschlager, Wolfgang Holzmair, Cédric Pescia, Paul Meyer, David Grimal, Anne Gastinel, Matt Haimovitz, Isabelle Faust, the Ebene, Modigliani, Takacs, Auryn, Vanbrugh, Danish and Chilingirian string quartets.

His recording of Schumann’s Humoresque and Fantasiestücke op.12 was awarded Gramophone Editor’s Choice and FM Magazine « Best Buy » (2005). Philippe Cassard's releases (Schubert 8 Impromptus, Brahms op.116 to 119) have been received very warmly.

Philippe joins soprano Natalie Dessay in 2012 for a Debussy Songs programme (Erato) and a Poulenc, Fauré, Duparc and Chausson recital in 2015. His recent release of a Schubert programme (Sonata D959 and four hands piano music with Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia) for La Dolce Volta, has been awarded "Choc 2014" by Classica magazine.

Philippe Cassard has been artistic director of the festival « Nuits Romantiques du Lac du Bourget » (1999-2008), and since 2005, he has presented 430 live weekly programmes on France Musique Radio dedicated to piano interpretation (awarded Prix SCAM in 2007 as "Best radio programme"). He has written an essay on Schubert and a book on cinema and music links.

Booklet for Mendelssohn