User:Ral0198/Piano Trio No. 2 (Mendelssohn)/Bibliography

Bibliography

• Mendelssohn Essays, by R. Larry Todd, is reliable source to start with for my article due to Todd's credibility as someone who has spent most of his life studying Mendelssohn and his works. As this source is the only source cited on the article currently, there is much information that can still be drawn from it, especially when looking at the first three movements of the piece.

• "Mendelssohn: A Life in Music," also by R. Larry Todd, is credited as the most reliable bibliography on Mendelssohn. As it pertains to the life of Mendelssohn, there could be historical context to draw on that may have influenced the composition of the second piano trio.
• "Mendelssohn & The Free Chorale," by R. Larry Todd and Angela R. Mace, provides insight into the chorale motive used in the fourth movement of the second piano trio. This information could be a good addition to what is already written on the fourth movement.
• "With True Esteem and Friendship”: The Correspondence of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Louis Spohr," by R. Larry Todd and John Michael Cooper, discusses the relationship between Mendelssohn and Spohr, which can provide historical context for the second piano trio as it is dedicated to Spohr.

Annotated Bibliography

Todd, R. Larry (October 2013). Mendelssohn Essays. Routledge. pp. 243–245.

Todd stands as one of the leading music historians with information pertaining to Felix Mendlessohn-Bartholody.  As Todd stands as an author in each of the sources discussed, he is able to cover a wide variety of materials pertaining to Mendlessohn’s life history in relation to his works.  This source provides information from previously unpublished research essays written between 1980 and 2005.  Within the selected pages of the essays, Todd discusses the musical ideas behind Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 66, breaking down each of the movements with their important details.  Though these details are written differently from those seen in Todd’s book, Mendelssohn: A Life in Music, they still provide additional insight into the research surrounding the piano trio.

Todd, Larry R. Mendelssohn: A Life in Music. Oxford University Press; Illustrated edition, 2005. pp. 493-499

Todd’s life research into Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholody culminated into this award-winning biography. Holding the title of the most accurate historical biography on Mendelssohn, Todd’s book covers the different aspects on Mendelssohn’s life.  The book focuses on all aspects of Mendelssohn’s life, discussing his family background and his journey through life and its influences on his music.  Focusing on Mendlessohn’s “Frankfurt period,” Todd discusses the different events that took place surrounding the composition of the Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 66.  This source provides greater detail about the individual movements than that seen in Todd’s Mendelssohn Essays.

Todd, Larry R., and Mace, Angela R. (March 2009). “Mendelssohn & the Free Chorale.” The Choral Journal, 49 (9): 58-60.

Todd, with the addition of scholar Mace, discuss the use of free chorale in Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholody’s instrumental music.  Similar to Todd, Mace has focused her research on music of the 19^th century, with a specialty in the life and music of siblings Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn.  The journal article provides insight into Bach’s influence on Mendelssohn’s composition style, leading to his use of free chorale.  The fourth movement of Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 66, presents a free chorale, and the article discusses the details surrounding this chorale.  While the previous readings provide background information and a musical description for each of the movements of the trio, this journal article provides greater detail about the implementation of the chorale that is present in the fourth movement of the trio.

Cooper, John Michael; Todd, R. Larry (March 2010). ""With True Esteem and Friendship": The Correspondence of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Louis Spohr". Journal of Musicological Research. 29 (2–3): 171–259. doi:10.1080/01411896.2010.482512. ISSN 0141-1896

Alongside Todd, Cooper is a notable musicologist with several books pertaining to Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholody, as well as the editor of six of Mendelssohn’s works through Bärenreiter Urtext.  The two scholars compiled first-hand letters between Mendelssohn and his close friend, Louis Spohr.  These letters, translated by the authors, provide details into the relationship between Mendelssohn and Spohr as they discuss to their lives, both socially and professionally.  Focusing on Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 66, which was dedicated to Spohr, the 36^th and 37^th letters provide an intimate look into the two figures’ close friendship with relation to the piece.  Unlike the other sources, which provide secondary evidence, the letters in this source provide primary evidence about Mendelssohn in relation to his piano trio.

Todd, R. Larry (January 2001). “Mendelssohn(-Bartholdy), (Jacob Ludwig) Felix.” Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.

Todd’s early article, “Mendelssohn(-Bartholody), (Jacob Ludwig) Felix,” presents biographical research that became the basis for his later published book.  The article paints a picture of the world Mendelssohn lived, not only from a musical standpoint, but also from a historical outlook. Focusing on section 6 and section 9, as they pertain to Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 66, Todd provides world historical context that likely influenced Mendelssohn’s compositions (section 6,) and background information on the piano trio and its use of the ‘Lied ohne Worte’ style (section 9).  Todd’s early article differs from the other sources he worked on due to its in-depth world history context, which helps the reader understand the circumstances of Mendelssohn’s compositions.