Felix Mendelssohn
Rondo Capriccioso
in E Major, Op. 14

ID: 2093

Brilliant Sylph and Fairy Music

One of Mendelssohn’s most important and beautiful piano works, the Rondo Capriccioso combines two of Mendelssohn's specialties: the first section is a short, lyrical "song without words", and the second part is a light and sparkling scherzo. The presto section showcases Mendelssohn’s elf-like qualities. It is very similar both to the music of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and the last movement of the Violin Concerto in E-Minor. One can almost hear the sylphs and fairies flitting through the trees. The presto is also more complex than the composer’s “Songs Without Words” and requires a much more advanced technique.

Background

A first version of the Rondo Capriccioso was composed in 1828. It featured only the sparkling bravura part, and was simply called an "Etude". Two years later Mendelssohn reworked it for the young piano virtuoso Delphine von Schauroth, whom he was courting, adding the introductory adagio and making the second part even more brilliant.

Members who like this piece have also downloaded:

Beethoven - Für Elise - in A Minor:

Haydn - Piano Concerto - Hob. XVIII: 11 in D Major:

Chopin - Piano Concerto 1 - Op. 11 in E Minor:

Mendelssohn - Presto (Tarantella) - Op. 102 No. 3 in C Major:

Mendelssohn - Andante sostenuto (Venetian Boat Song) - Op. 19 No. 6 in G Minor:

Burgmüller - Spinning Song - Op. 109 No. 18 in D Major: