Steven Isserlis – cello
Alasdair Beatson – piano

Mendelssohn Variations concertantes
Schumann (arr S Isserlis) Violin Sonata No 2
Schumann Adagio and Allegro
Mendelssohn Cello Sonata No 2

Please note this concert will finish at approximately 9.30pm and will have an interval.

The relationship of Mendelssohn and Schumann is fascinating. Mendelssohn employed Schumann as a teacher at his newly-formed conservatoire in Leipzig, and conducted the premieres of Schumann’s first two symphonies. Schumann, for his part, looked up to the far more successful Mendelssohn, describing him as ‘a real God’; and from the asylum where he spent his last years, Schumann applauded Clara’s decision to name their last child Felix, after the (by then deceased) Mendelssohn. Musically, too, they make an endlessly intriguing pair, the contrast between them vividly illustrated by the sonatas in this programme: Schumann’s futuristic, tempestuous late violin sonata is in total contrast to Mendelssohn’s joyous masterpiece, representing the epitome of classical romanticism. – Steven Isserlis

This concert is one of six in the Leeds International Chamber Season 2021/22. View all concerts.