Atma: ACD22501

The Alcan Quartet performs music for string ensemble that reveals both the dark and light sides Mendelssohn’s character. His Quartet No. 6, Op. 80 is an anguished requiem for his sister Fanny, written shortly before the composer himself died. Four Pieces, Op. 81 was assembled by a publisher two years after Mendelssohn’s death. Canada’s internationally acclaimed violist Steven Dann joins the musicians of the Alcan for the composer’s Quintet No. 2, Op.87, written in 1845 during a period of relative calm.