Felix Mendelssohn Violin Sonata in F minor, Op. 4

Composer: Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 1809 4 November 1847) Performers: Shlomo Mintz (violin), Paul Ostrovsky (piano) Year of recording: 1986 Sonata for Violin Piano in F minor, Op. 4, written in 1823. 00:00 I. Adagio Allegro moderato 10:25 II. Poco adagio 19:10 III. Allegro agitato For many decades Felix Mendelssohn was thought to have authored only one violin sonata: the Sonata for violin and piano in F minor, Op. 4. And, although two further sonatas for violinpiano duo came to light during the latter half of the twentieth century, neither of them has been able to steal the limelight from Opus 4 as his most popular work in the genre, even if some Mendelssohnlovers feel that one of the other two, the 1838 F major Sonata, is more deserving of that distinction. Mendelssohn composed the Opus 4 sonata in 1823, when he was in his midteens. It is a solidly built threemovement piece with more than a hint of Beethovenian minormode storminess to it; yet the p