MENDELSSOHN — Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13

Felix Mendelssohn: Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 1 Eric Tsai, violin Jinyoung Yoon, violin Hae Sue Lee, viola Andres Sanchez, cello Performed on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia 0:00 Adagio—Allegro vivace 8:45 Adagio non lento 18:15 Intermezzo: Allegretto con moto—Allegro di molto 23:22 Presto—Adagio non lento Felix Mendelssohn put himself on the musical map with his string octet when he was only 16, but his chamber music output continued at a brisk pace throughout the rest of his teens. His second string quartet, Op. 13, came just two years later, and with it he demonstrated not only a prodigious virtuosity, but a deep well of maturity and creativity. The piece draws on a variety of inspirations. The piece introduces itself with a quotation of a song Mendelssohn wrote the same year, Ist es wahr (“Is it true?”), concerning youthful and unrequited love. The question is asked tentatively at first befor