“Ever since we performed Fanny Mendelssohn’s string quartet in 2021 and learned of her letters to her brother, Felix, we knew there was the nucleus of an idea that could help illuminate Felix and Fanny’s world for us today. Given Felix’s very successful and much loved incidental music for the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we thought it would be apt to commission our own incidental music for this project. Bryony Marks is the perfect conduit for connecting these characters and the music that defines them.

Felix Mendelssohn was heavily influenced by Beethoven’s string quartets, becoming infatuated with Op. 132 and copying it out note by note in his journal. Like Beethoven, Mendelssohn’s string quartets track his life – from the optimism of his first string quartet, Op. 12, to the tragedy of last, Op. 80, which was written in response to the death of Fanny. Both composers penned their final notes in their string quartets.”

~Zoe Knighton, cello