Flinders Quartet are not the first to pair Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn’s string quartets in concert. However, they may well be the first to do so in combination with dramaturgy and verse.

The Mendelssohns told the interwoven stories of siblings Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, threading readings of historical correspondence and verse in between movements from Fanny’s String Quartet in E-flat major, and Felix’s final major work, his String Quartet No. 6 Op. 80.

Instead of playing each quartet in order, movements from both were rearranged to reflect a new overall narrative arc: a story of two equally talented composers and musicians, whose output and notoriety were unbalanced by expected gender roles. Words were crafted for the show by Richard Piper, and new incidental music from fellow Melburnian Bryony Marks tied it all together.

Flinders Quartet: The Mendelssohns. Photo @flindersquartet

Letters, diary entries and verse told of a talented young Fanny, who as the elder of the two siblings, was one of Felix’s first and most influential musical mentors. Her skill as a pianist and composer was recognised by the likes of Goethe from her early teens, yet as she grew older, she...