OUT NOW | Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective's "Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn"

Released on the Chandos label, the disc pairs Felix Mendelssohn's well-known Piano Sextet with two works by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel

 

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective and pianist Elena Urioste have recently released a new disc on Chandos Records, titled "Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn." The award-winning British group has previously focused on recording works by composers who deserve greater attention, including Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Amy Beach, and Florence Price.

This new disc continues in that tradition, pairing Felix Mendelssohn's well-known Piano Sextet with two works by his elder sister, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel.

Hensel was both an accomplished pianist and a prolific composer, writing about 460 works over the course of her career. Because of the social expectations of her era, however, the vast majority of these works remain unknown.

Since the 1990s, Hensel has experienced something of a renaissance, with players and audiences becoming more interested in reviving her work. On this disc, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective has chosen a work from each end of her career: the early Piano Quartet, written when she was aged just 17, and the Piano Trio, which was to be her final chamber work.

You can find the album here, and watch a preview video here.