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Felix Mendelssohn
German/Jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn was born in 1809 and passed away in 1847. He is mostly known for his symphonic music, revival of Bach’s music, and his “Songs Without Words.” Any serious pianist is expected to study his Songs Without Words. Other piano music of his that should be studied include the Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14, Seven Characteristic Pieces Op. 7, Prelude and Fugues Op. 35, and Op. 54 Variations serieuses, and 3 piano sonatas.
Mendelssohn Song Without Words
Mendelssohn’s Song Without Words are comprised of Eight Books, each having 6 songs. They are Book 1 Op. 19b, Book 2 Op. 30, Book 3 Op. 38, Book 4 Op. 53, Book 5 Op. 62, Book 6 Op. 67, Book 7 Op. 85, and Book 8 Op. 102.
Barenreiter Urtext
You can see an example of the Barenreiter edition of Mendelssohn Song Without Words by clicking on the link.
This edition is edited by R. Larry Todd, a legendary Mendelssohn scholar. He wrote books about Mendelssohn such as Mendelssohn’s Musical Education, Mendelssohn: The Hebribes and Other Overtures, and Mendelssohn: A Life in Music. His forward and critical commentaries are definitely worth the read!
Fingering suggestions are made by Matthias Kirschnereit.
Contains all 8 books of Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words.
Wiener Urtext
I could not find an edition of this on Amazon.com, so you will have to click on the picture and purchase this directly from the Wiener Urtext Edition website.
You can see an example of the Wiener Mendellsohn Lieder ohne Worte with the following link.
Henle Verlag Urtext
The Henle Edition of Mendelssohn Song Without Words is edited by Rudolf Elvers and Ernst Herttrich.
Rudolf Elvers is the author of the book Mendelssohn: A life in letters.
Fingering suggestions are made by Hans-Martin Theopold.
Songs Without Words Lieder Ohne Worte
Mendelssohn Piano Sonatas
There are 3 Mendelssohn Piano sonatas – Sonata No. 1, Op. 6, Sonata No. 2, Op. 105, and Sonata No. 3, Op. 106.
I could not find any editions that publish the three piano sonatas together. If you can find any publisher that does, please comment at the bottom of this page.
Henle Verlag Urtext
Edited by Ullrich Scheideler, Rudolf Elvers, and Ernst Herttrich. Fingering suggestions by Hans-Martin Theopold, Andreas Groethuysen. Each book contains about 300 pages. Click here to see what pieces are in each book.
Fingering suggestion by Andras Schiff in book 2
Dover Edition
Republished from the esteemed Breitkopf & Härtel edition
Mendelssohn Piano Variations Op. 54, 82, and 83
Barenreiter Urtext
Click on the following link to see an example of the Barenreiter Mendelssohn Piano Variations.
This edition is edited by Holger M. Stüwe. Holger M. Stuwe also does editing for Schumann and Dvorak pieces. You can read one of his papers, Musical Topics and Ambiguity in Nineteenth Century Music, with the following link.
Wiener Urtext
Variations Sérieuses Op. 54
Edited by Michael Kube. There are fingering suggestions and interpretation suggestions by Peter Roggenkamp.
Here is an example of Wiener Urtext Edition for Mendelssohn’s Piano Variations:
You can also go directly to the Wiener Website to read more about this best edition for Mendelssohn.
Mendelssohn Seven Character Pieces, Op. 7
Barenreiter Urtext
Click on the following link to see an example of the Barenreiter Mendelssohn Seven Character Pieces.
Edited by Holger M. Stüwe.
MENDELSSOHN – Piezas Caracteristicas Op.7 y Piezas para Niños Op.72 para Piano (Urtext) (Stuwe)
Mendelssohn Piano Four Hands
Henle Verlag Urtext
Mendelssohn: Works for Piano Four-hands (Henle Urtext)
