Song without Words Op. 19b No. 4 | Felix Mendelssohn | Charles Szczepanek, pianist

[@aBachwardsfellow]

There are no words to express how beautifully played this is ... :-)

[@PianistAcademy1]

Very kind, thanks!

[@andrewfk183]

Thank you for this beautiful rendition. I had the fortune to visit the Mendelssohn Museum in Leipzig in September and I didn't realise just how influential he was in how classical music developed.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks for listening, Andrew! I quite enjoy many of Mendelssohn's Songs without Words as well as some of his other work. Your visit to the Mendelssohn Museum sounds like an extraordinary time!

[@normanwee678]

I enjoy listening to your playing. The tempo & beautiful voicing are so natural 👍

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thank you!

[@Kim-by1vh]

Absolutely beautiful ❤❤❤

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thank you, Kim!

[@Helen-ws3do]

This was put up 6th March, my birthday🎉 , I don't really celebrate them any more, too many of them LOL (72) I am only 25 on the inside 😂. I love this, what a wonderful name for a piece of music. I wonder why it was called this, it is very upbeat joyous even, but the name sounds conflicted doesn't it. Thank you for your wonderful playing and for reading my ramblings 😅. Of course it's full moon LOL

[@PianistAcademy1]

Happy, late, birthday Helen! I always appreciate you listening and commenting! Thanks for also checking out my work on this channel!

[@Helen-ws3do]

@PianistAcademy1 it's always my pleasure Charles ❤️

[@bethanywakim6175]

Beautiful rendition! My teacher’s favorite piece was op 19 no 1; Mendelssohn’s songs without words are such a great collection of pieces. Have you heard any of Fanny’s songs without words? I remember hearing her op 8 no 1 on the radio as a teenager, and was astounded to discover Felix had a sister who wrote music too!

[@PianistAcademy1]

I'm learning Op 19 No 1 right now! Ah, I love how the final statement of the theme pulls into 2 bars of new melodic and harmonic material that's just heart wrenching and gorgeous. In fact, I'm planning to learn the entire Op 19 set... this one, No. 4, was the first to get recorded because I've taught it a whole bunch over this past year! I do know of Fanny's songs without words, but I haven't taken the time to listen yet. Did you know that Felix and Fanny used to "compete" with one another and write music on the same subject or with the same text?

[@bethanywakim6175]

@@PianistAcademy1 I’m so excited you’re doing the whole set! I know exactly the spot you’re talking about in no 1, I get chills no matter how many times I play it. I knew Fanny and Felix were involved in each others music, but didn’t know they “competed”! But that sounds about right for siblings 😆 I became a bit obsessed with learning her piece as a teen; she was the first female composer I’d ever heard of. I think up to that point I’d assumed there were none!

[@serwoolsley]

nice! i don't know much about Mendelssohn, i can feel this piece wants to be romantic but still there is some clear classicism in it, i'm not crazy right? do you all hear it?

[@PianistAcademy1]

You have good ears, Serwoolsley! Mendelssohn wrote this 2 years after Beethoven passed, 1 year after Schubert, and when Chopin was 19 years old.

[@JoeLinux2000]

I have the feeling of a well crafted church hymn. meant to be sung by a piano rather than a choir. Charles's piano is singing very nicely. His new hammers are bright, but not harsh. Again I'm only hearing it on the small internal speakers of my monitor.