Mendelssohn Unknown - Isserlis, Prosseda, Melecchi (DVD)

This up-to-date documentary about Felix Mendelssohn is based on the original letters of the composer and his sister Fanny, combined with numerous evocative period images. Through a blend of music and words, the most distinguished Mendelssohn specialists of today guide viewers through the composer’s fascinating life and career. The various themes covered include his training, his religious and cultural identity, his journey to Italy, his rediscovery of Bach, his years in Leipzig, the relative neglect of his music following his death, his readmission to the canon of Germany’s greatest Romantic composers, and the recent unearthing of many unpublished works. Produced by Angelo Bozzolini, Luigi Melecchi and Roberto Prosseda,

Directed by Angelo Bozzolini.

Region code
0
Picture format NTSC 16:9
Sound format
PCM Stereo
Release December 1, 2012
Total running time 99 mins
Details running time 54 mins (Documentary), 45 mins (Bonus)
Subtitles English, French, German, Italian
Booklet notes English, French, German
No. of discs 1
Recording 2009
Bonus Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Song Without Words, Op. 19 No. 6 ‘Venetian Boat Song No. 1’
Song Without Words, Op. 30 No. 6 ‘Venetian Boat Song No. 2’
Sonata for violin and piano in D minor (1823, reconstructed 2005 by Alessandro Solbiati)
Capriccio in E flat minor (1823)
Variations brillantes for cello and piano by Mendelssohn and Joseph Merk (1830, cello part reconstructed 2008 by Gabrio Taglietti)
Bonus performances recorded live at Teatro Olimpico, Vicenza, Italy, 11 June 2009, for Settimane Musicali al Teatro Olimpico. Directed by Pietro Tagliaferri