Richard Wagner, of course, was not very fond of Felix Mendelssohn. He had given the manuscript of his early Symphony in C major to Mendelssohn as a “gift” in 1836, and then became resentful when Mendelssohn didn’t make a special case for the work in his position as kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. For this, Wagner never forgave him. Nevermind the fact that the symphony had been performed by the Leipzig orchestra in 1833.
Okay, so Wagner may have been a little disappointed, but he could have stopped short of his notorious screed “Judaism in Music,” first published in 1850, in which Mendelssohn was singled out for preferential treatment. But at least he was in good company. Wagner also targeted Giacomo Meyerbeer, who had helped secure the first performance of Wagner’s break-out success, “Rienzi,” in 1842. (The conductor Hans von Bülow joked that “Rienzi” was Meyerbeer’s best opera.) Mendelssohn had already been dead for three years, and Wagner published his essay under a pseudonym. Not exactly fair play, by any standard.
Ironically, the tract wound up damaging his own reputation more than Mendelssohn’s. It’s a good thing for Wagner that his genius was such that we still revere his innovative music dramas even in the shadow of his own psychological frailty.
Mendelssohn, too, remains in the canon, his own genius undiminished. Mendelssohn’s String Quintet No. 1 in A minor will be the concluding work on today’s Noontime Concert on The Classical Network, which will be made up of performances by the Manhattan Chamber Players.
Also on the program will be Maurice Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet, and String Quartet, Johannes Brahms’ Clarinet Trio, and John Blasdale’s Elegy in F sharp minor, a work for string quartet inspired by Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 109. The broadcast will be drawn from two concerts given at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in December and April. The Baruch Performing Arts Center is located on 25th Street, between Lexington and 3rd Avenues, in New York City.
This Thursday, the Manhattan Chamber Players will be joined by formidable cellist Peter Wiley. Wiley is a veteran of both the Beaux Arts Trio and the Guarneri Quartet. The program, titled “Cello Power,” will include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s String Quartet in B flat major, K. 589, and the String Quintets by Alexander Glazunov and Franz Schubert. The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, New York City, 3 West 65th Street, at the corner of 65th and Central Park West. For more information, visit manhattanchamberplayers.com.
Following today’s Noontime Concert broadcast, I’ll mark Wagner’s birthday anniversary with some unusual works and exceptional performances – maybe even the Symphony in C. We’ll find beauty in the beast, between 12 and 4 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
