《Son Songs without Words, Op.62, No.1》

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Felix Mendelssohn is a German composer composing in the early Romantic period. In the society of Mendelssohn’s time, music played an important role for the middle class, serving as a leisurely pastime as well as a medium for social interaction, with the piano as an important musical instrument for many families. Mendelssohn's “Songs without Words” was especially written for the piano under such social circumstances. The Austrian violinist Fritz Kreisler took Mendelssohn’s “May Breezes” in G major from “Songs without Words, Opus. 62, No. 1” and rearranged it for violin and piano in the key of Bb. The violin’s lingering melody and the continuous piano accompaniment give the music a new poetic flavor and a more joyous character. The beautiful lyricism and natural resonance of the violin also help bring out the unique characteristics of the piece.