Roberto Prosseda (born 1975) is an Italian classical pianist. Prosseda began composing for the piano at the age of four, and took his first private piano lessons at six. In 1985, he entered the Conservatorio Ottorino Respighi in Latina, where he studied piano with Anna Maria Martinelli, graduating in 1994. He went on to study with Alexander Lonquich, Boris Petrushansky and Franco Scala at the Accademia Pianistica "Incontri col Maestro" in Imola, and with Dmitri Bashkirov, Leon Fleisher, William Grant Naboré, Charles Rosen, Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Fou Ts'ong at the International Piano Foundation in Cadenabbia (Lake Como, Italy). Prosseda has won major prizes in several piano competitions, including the Umberto Micheli competition in Milan, the Franz Schubert competition in Dortmund, the Alessandro Casagrande competition in Terni, and the Mozart competition in Salzburg. Prosseda completed his PhD in Italian Literature from La Sapienza University in Rome. Prosseda and his wife, concert pianist Alessandra Ammara, perform as a piano duo. Prosseda is particularly noted for his performances of newly discovered works by Felix Mendelssohn. He has recorded a nine-CD series for Decca of the piano works of Mendelssohn, including a Mendelssohn Discoveries album of formerly unknown works. Prosseda discovered a manuscript of Mendelssohn's uncompleted third piano concerto in the Bodleian Library, and asked Marcello Bufalini to complete the score. Prosseda subsequently performed the reconstruction publicly and recorded it commercially. Prosseda has prepared critical editions of rare piano works by Mendelssohn, including 6 Fugues (1821–26), 4 Sonatas (1820), and Fantasia for piano four hands (1824). Prosseda is founder and president of the Associazione Mendelssohn, which promotes the music and the heritage of Felix Mendelssohn. Prosseda dedicated the early part of his career to the discovery of piano works by several neglected Italian composers, such as Antonio Salieri, Gioachino Rossini and Roffredo Caetani. He published the first edition of Salieri's Sonata in C major in 2004 for Boccaccini & Spada. In September 2011, Prosseda gave his first public performance on the piano-pédalier (pedal piano), the modern première of Charles Gounod's concerto for piano-pédalier and orchestra in E flat major (1889), with the Orchestra Filarmonica Toscanini conducted by Jan Latham Koenig. Subsequently, contemporary composers have written piano pedal pieces for Prosseda, including Cristian Carrara, Ennio and Andrea Morricone, Giuseppe Lupis, Alessandro Solbiati and Michael Glenn Williams. Prosseda has commercially recorded four works by Charles Gounod for piano-pédalier and orchestra (Concerto, Suite Concertante, Fantaisie sur l'Hymne Russe and Danse Roumaine) for Hyperion. In June 2012, Prosseda made his debut recital on the piano-pédalier at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

This is a list of solo piano pieces by Felix Mendelssohn.

This is a list of solo piano pieces by Felix Mendelssohn.

This is a list of solo piano pieces by Felix Mendelssohn.

This is a list of solo piano pieces by Felix Mendelssohn.

The Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. Posth. 90, MWV N 16, commonly known as the Italian, is an orchestral symphony written by German composer Felix Mendelssohn.

Johannes Brahms (; German: [joˈhanəs ˈbʁaːms] ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied yet expressive contrapuntal textures. He adapted the traditional structures and techniques of a wide historical range of earlier composers. His œuvre includes four symphonies, four concertos, a Requiem, much chamber music, and hundreds of folk-song arrangements and Lieder, among other works for symphony orchestra, piano, organ, and choir. Born to a musical family in Hamburg, Brahms began composing and concertizing locally in his youth. He toured Central Europe as a pianist in his adulthood, premiering many of his own works and meeting Franz Liszt in Weimar. Brahms worked with Ede Reményi and Joseph Joachim, seeking Robert Schumann's approval through Joachim. He gained both Robert and Clara Schumann's support and guidance. Brahms stayed with Clara in Düsseldorf, becoming devoted to her amid Robert's insanity and institutionalization. The two remained close, lifelong friends after Robert's death. Brahms never married, perhaps in an effort to focus on his work as a musician and scholar. He was a self-conscious, sometimes severely self-critical composer. Though innovative, his music was considered relatively conservative within the polarized context of the War of the Romantics, an affair in which Brahms regretted his public involvement. His compositions were largely successful, attracting a growing circle of supporters, friends, and musicians. Eduard Hanslick celebrated them polemically as absolute music, and Hans von Bülow even cast Brahms as the successor of Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, an idea Richard Wagner mocked. Settling in Vienna, Brahms conducted the Singakademie and Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, programming the early and often "serious" music of his personal studies. He considered retiring from composition late in life but continued to write chamber music, especially for Richard Mühlfeld. Brahms's contributions and craftsmanship were admired by his contemporaries like Antonín Dvořák, whose music he enthusiastically supported, and a variety of later composers. Max Reger and Alexander Zemlinsky reconciled Brahms's and Wagner's often contrasted styles. So did Arnold Schoenberg, who emphasized Brahms's "progressive" side. He and Anton Webern were inspired by the intricate structural coherence of Brahms's music, including what Schoenberg termed its developing variation. It remains a staple of the concert repertoire, continuing to influence composers into the 21st century.

This is a list of compositions by Felix Mendelssohn.

The Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. Posth. 90, MWV N 16, commonly known as the Italian, is an orchestral symphony written by German composer Felix Mendelssohn.

Fanny Cäcilie Hensel née Mendelssohn (14 November 1805 – 14 May 1847) was a German composer and pianist of the early Romantic era, also known as Fanny Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Her compositions number over 450, and include a string quartet, a piano trio, a piano quartet, an orchestral overture, four cantatas, more than 125 pieces for solo piano, and over 250 lieder. Most of these were unpublished in her lifetime. Although lauded for her piano technique, she rarely gave public performances outside her family circle. She grew up in Berlin and received a thorough musical education from teachers including her mother, as well as the composers Ludwig Berger and Carl Friedrich Zelter. Her younger brother Felix Mendelssohn, also a composer and pianist, shared the same education and the two developed a close relationship. Owing to her family's reservations and to social conventions of the time about the roles of women, six of her songs were published under her brother's name in his Opus 8 and 9 collections. In 1829, she married artist Wilhelm Hensel and, in 1830, they had their only child, Sebastian Hensel. In 1846, despite the continuing ambivalence of some of her family (but not her husband) toward her musical ambitions, Fanny Hensel published a collection of songs as her Opus 1. She died of a stroke in 1847, aged 41. Since the 1990s, her life and works have been the subject of more detailed research. Her Easter Sonata was inaccurately credited to her brother in 1970, before new analysis of documents in 2010 corrected the attribution. The Fanny & Felix Mendelssohn Museum opened on 29 May 2018 in Hamburg, Germany.

While most symphonies have a number, many symphonies are known by their (nick)name. This article lists symphonies that are numbered and have an additional nickname, and symphonies that are primarily known by their name and/or key. Also various compositions that contain "symphony" or "sinfonia" in their name are included, whether or not strictly speaking they adhere to the format of a classical symphony. Sinfonia concertante is a different genre, and works of that genre are not included here, unless for those named works that are usually known as a symphony.

Felix Mendelssohn's six Organ Sonatas, Op. 65, were published in 1845. Mendelssohn's biographer Eric Werner has written of them: "Next to Bach's works, Mendelssohn's Organ Sonatas belong to the required repertory of all organists."

Six Preludes and Fugues, Op. 35, is a piano composition by Felix Mendelssohn. Combining freshly composed preludes with several earlier composed fugues, he composed the entire collection in a plan based on alternating minor and major keys (E minor, D major, B minor, A♭ major, F minor, B♭ major). This composition is influenced by Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Fanny Cäcilie Hensel née Mendelssohn (14 November 1805 – 14 May 1847) was a German composer and pianist of the early Romantic era, also known as Fanny Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Her compositions number over 450, and include a string quartet, a piano trio, a piano quartet, an orchestral overture, four cantatas, more than 125 pieces for solo piano, and over 250 lieder. Most of these were unpublished in her lifetime. Although lauded for her piano technique, she rarely gave public performances outside her family circle. She grew up in Berlin and received a thorough musical education from teachers including her mother, as well as the composers Ludwig Berger and Carl Friedrich Zelter. Her younger brother Felix Mendelssohn, also a composer and pianist, shared the same education and the two developed a close relationship. Owing to her family's reservations and to social conventions of the time about the roles of women, six of her songs were published under her brother's name in his Opus 8 and 9 collections. In 1829, she married artist Wilhelm Hensel and, in 1830, they had their only child, Sebastian Hensel. In 1846, despite the continuing ambivalence of some of her family (but not her husband) toward her musical ambitions, Fanny Hensel published a collection of songs as her Opus 1. She died of a stroke in 1847, aged 41. Since the 1990s, her life and works have been the subject of more detailed research. Her Easter Sonata was inaccurately credited to her brother in 1970, before new analysis of documents in 2010 corrected the attribution. The Fanny & Felix Mendelssohn Museum opened on 29 May 2018 in Hamburg, Germany.

The Piano Sonata No. 2 in B♭ minor, Op. 35, is a piano sonata in four movements by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. Chopin completed the work while living in George Sand's manor in Nohant, some 250 km (160 mi) south of Paris, a year before it was published in 1840. The first of the composer's three mature sonatas (the others being the Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 and the Sonata for Piano and Cello in G minor, Op. 65), the work is considered to be one of the greatest piano sonatas of the literature. The third movement of the Piano Sonata No. 2 is Chopin's famous funeral march (French: Marche funèbre; Polish: Marsz żałobny) which was composed at least two years before the remainder of the work and has remained, by itself, one of Chopin's most popular compositions. The Piano Sonata No. 2 carries allusions and reminiscences of music by J. S. Bach and by Ludwig van Beethoven; Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 12 also has a funeral march as its third movement. A typical performance of Chopin's second sonata lasts between 21 and 25 minutes, depending on whether the repetition of the first movement's exposition is observed. While the Piano Sonata No. 2 gained instant popularity with the public, critical reception was initially more doubtful. Robert Schumann, among other critics, argued that the work was structurally inferior and that Chopin "could not quite handle sonata form", a criticism that did not withstand time. The work has been recorded by numerous pianists and is regularly programmed in concerts and piano competitions. The Marche funèbre exists in countless arrangements and has been performed at funerals all over the world (including Chopin's own), having become an archetypal evocation of death.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

This is a list of compositions by Felix Mendelssohn.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Allegro Brillant, Op. 92, MWV T 4 is a composition written for Piano four hands by Felix Mendelssohn consisting of a theme in A major, written in 1841 and dedicated to Clara Schumann. The expressive Andante theme alternates between the Secondo and Primo, segueing into the virtuosic Allegro assai vivace movement with a rush of scales. All fingering, metronome marks, and notational omissions have been supplemented by the editors. Allegro brillant is considered one of the most challenging pieces in the entire piano duet repertoire.

Felix Mendelssohn's six Organ Sonatas, Op. 65, were published in 1845. Mendelssohn's biographer Eric Werner has written of them: "Next to Bach's works, Mendelssohn's Organ Sonatas belong to the required repertory of all organists."

The Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 107, known as the Reformation, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. The Confession is a key document of Lutheranism and its Presentation to Emperor Charles V in June 1530 was a momentous event of the Protestant Reformation. This symphony was written for a full orchestra and was Mendelssohn's second extended symphony. It was not published until 1868, 21 years after the composer's death – hence its numbering as '5'. Although the symphony is not very frequently performed, it is better known today than when it was originally published. Mendelssohn's sister, Fanny Hensel, chose the name Reformation Symphony.

The Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 107, known as the Reformation, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. The Confession is a key document of Lutheranism and its Presentation to Emperor Charles V in June 1530 was a momentous event of the Protestant Reformation. This symphony was written for a full orchestra and was Mendelssohn's second extended symphony. It was not published until 1868, 21 years after the composer's death – hence its numbering as '5'. Although the symphony is not very frequently performed, it is better known today than when it was originally published. Mendelssohn's sister, Fanny Hensel, chose the name Reformation Symphony.

The following is a list of compositions by Giovanni Bottesini (1821–1889). A new comprehensive catalogue, created by Stephen Street can now be found on the Bottesini Urtext website bottesiniurtext.com/bottesini-s-catalogue

The "Rondo capriccioso", Op. 14, MWV U67, is a composition for solo piano by Felix Mendelssohn. The work consists of two linked sections: a lyrical Andante in E major and a virtuosic Presto in E minor. Mendelssohn originally composed the Presto as a standalone étude in 1828. In 1830, while in Munich, he revised the work for the pianist Delphine von Schauroth, adding the slow introduction to create the form it is known in today. The revised piece was published in 1831 by Pietro Mechetti. The "Rondo capriccioso" is thematically integrated, with the opening melody of the Andante forming the basis for the main theme of the Presto. Its structure, combining a slow introduction with a fast finale, was influenced by the works of Carl Maria von Weber and served as a model for some of Mendelssohn's later compositions for piano and orchestra.

This is a list of compositions by Felix Mendelssohn.

This is a list of compositions by Felix Mendelssohn.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

The Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 107, known as the Reformation, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. The Confession is a key document of Lutheranism and its Presentation to Emperor Charles V in June 1530 was a momentous event of the Protestant Reformation. This symphony was written for a full orchestra and was Mendelssohn's second extended symphony. It was not published until 1868, 21 years after the composer's death – hence its numbering as '5'. Although the symphony is not very frequently performed, it is better known today than when it was originally published. Mendelssohn's sister, Fanny Hensel, chose the name Reformation Symphony.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

The Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 107, known as the Reformation, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. The Confession is a key document of Lutheranism and its Presentation to Emperor Charles V in June 1530 was a momentous event of the Protestant Reformation. This symphony was written for a full orchestra and was Mendelssohn's second extended symphony. It was not published until 1868, 21 years after the composer's death – hence its numbering as '5'. Although the symphony is not very frequently performed, it is better known today than when it was originally published. Mendelssohn's sister, Fanny Hensel, chose the name Reformation Symphony.

This is a list of compositions by Felix Mendelssohn.

The composer Ferruccio Busoni produced a large number of adaptations, transcriptions, and editions of works by other composers. He also wrote a number of cadenzas for compositions by other composers. This article presents a complete catalog of these works. For a complete list of original compositions see Catalog of original compositions by Ferruccio Busoni. For a more selective list of recorded works, see Ferruccio Busoni discography (as composer).

This is a list of compositions by Felix Mendelssohn.

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 1809 – 4 November 1847), known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music, organ music and chamber music. His best-known works include the overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream (which includes his "Wedding March"), the Italian and Scottish Symphonies, the oratorios St. Paul and Elijah, the Hebrides Overture, the mature Violin Concerto, the String Octet, and the melody used in the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words are his most famous solo piano compositions. Mendelssohn's grandfather was the Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, but Felix was initially raised without religion until he was baptised aged seven into the Reformed Christian church. He was recognised early as a musical prodigy, but his parents were cautious and did not seek to capitalise on his talent. His sister Fanny received a similar musical education and was a talented composer and pianist in her own right; some of her early songs were published under her brother's name and her Easter Sonata was for a time mistakenly attributed to him after being lost and rediscovered in the 1970s. Mendelssohn enjoyed early success in Germany, and revived interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, notably with his performance of the St Matthew Passion in 1829. He became well received in his travels throughout Europe as a composer, conductor and soloist; his ten visits to Britain – during which many of his major works were premiered – form an important part of his adult career. His essentially conservative musical tastes set him apart from more adventurous musical contemporaries, such as Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Charles-Valentin Alkan and Hector Berlioz. The Leipzig Conservatory, which he founded, became a bastion of this anti-radical outlook. After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and antisemitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his creative originality has been re-evaluated. He is now among the most popular composers of the Romantic era.

Felix Mendelssohn's String Quartet in E♭ major is an early work composed in 1823 but not published until 1879. The quartet was not assigned an opus number and is not numbered.

The Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 107, known as the Reformation, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. The Confession is a key document of Lutheranism and its Presentation to Emperor Charles V in June 1530 was a momentous event of the Protestant Reformation. This symphony was written for a full orchestra and was Mendelssohn's second extended symphony. It was not published until 1868, 21 years after the composer's death – hence its numbering as '5'. Although the symphony is not very frequently performed, it is better known today than when it was originally published. Mendelssohn's sister, Fanny Hensel, chose the name Reformation Symphony.

F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, and E♭. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. The F natural minor scale is Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The F harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are

D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B♭, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The D harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:

The "Rondo capriccioso", Op. 14, MWV U67, is a composition for solo piano by Felix Mendelssohn. The work consists of two linked sections: a lyrical Andante in E major and a virtuosic Presto in E minor. Mendelssohn originally composed the Presto as a standalone étude in 1828. In 1830, while in Munich, he revised the work for the pianist Delphine von Schauroth, adding the slow introduction to create the form it is known in today. The revised piece was published in 1831 by Pietro Mechetti. The "Rondo capriccioso" is thematically integrated, with the opening melody of the Andante forming the basis for the main theme of the Presto. Its structure, combining a slow introduction with a fast finale, was influenced by the works of Carl Maria von Weber and served as a model for some of Mendelssohn's later compositions for piano and orchestra.

In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin fuga, meaning 'flight' or 'escape') is a contrapuntal, polyphonic compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches), which recurs frequently throughout the course of the composition. It is not to be confused with a fuguing tune, which is a style of song popularized by and mostly limited to early American (i.e. shape note or "Sacred Harp") music and West Gallery music. A fugue usually has three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a final entry that contains the return of the subject in the fugue's tonic key. Fugues can also have episodes, which are parts of the fugue where new material often based on the subject is heard; a stretto (plural stretti), when the fugue's subject overlaps itself in different voices, or a recapitulation. A popular compositional technique in the Baroque era, the fugue was fundamental in showing mastery of harmony and tonality as it presented counterpoint. In the Middle Ages, the term was widely used to denote any works in canonic style; however, by the Renaissance, it had come to denote specifically imitative works. Since the 17th century, the term fugue has described what is commonly regarded as the most fully developed procedure of imitative counterpoint. Most fugues open with a short main theme, called the subject, which then sounds successively in each voice. When each voice has completed its entry of the subject, the exposition is complete. This is often followed by a connecting passage, or episode, developed from previously heard material; further "entries" of the subject are then heard in related keys. Episodes (if applicable) and entries are usually alternated until the final entry of the subject, at which point the music has returned to the opening key, or tonic, which is often followed by a coda. Because of the composer's prerogative to decide most structural elements, the fugue is closer to a style of composition rather than a structural form. The form evolved during the 18th century from several earlier types of contrapuntal compositions, such as imitative ricercars, capriccios, canzonas, and fantasias. The Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), well known for his fugues, shaped his own works after those of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621), Johann Jakob Froberger (1616–1667), Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643), Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637–1707) and others. With the decline of sophisticated styles at the end of the baroque period, the fugue's central role waned, eventually giving way as sonata form and the symphony orchestra rose to a more prominent position. Nevertheless, composers continued to write and study fugues; they appear in the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), as well as modern composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) and Paul Hindemith (1895–1963).

The Clavier-Übung III, sometimes referred to as the German Organ Mass, is a collection of compositions for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach, started in 1735–36 and published in 1739. It is considered Bach's most significant and extensive work for organ, containing some of his most musically complex and technically demanding compositions for that instrument. In its use of modal forms, motet-style and canons, it looks back to the religious music of masters of the stile antico, such as Frescobaldi, Palestrina, Lotti and Caldara. At the same time, Bach was forward-looking, incorporating and distilling modern baroque musical forms, such as the French-style chorale. The work has the form of an Organ Mass: between its opening and closing movements—the prelude and "St Anne" fugue in E♭ major, BWV 552—are 21 chorale preludes, BWV 669–689, setting two parts of the Lutheran Mass and six catechism chorales, followed by four duets, BWV 802–805. The chorale preludes range from compositions for single keyboard to a six-part fugal prelude with two parts in the pedal. The purpose of the collection was fourfold: an idealized organ programme, taking as its starting point the organ recitals given by Bach himself in Leipzig; a practical translation of Lutheran doctrine into musical terms for devotional use in the church or the home; a compendium of organ music in all possible styles and idioms, both ancient and modern, and properly internationalised; and as a didactic work presenting examples of all possible forms of contrapuntal composition, going far beyond previous treatises on musical theory.

The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a composition for organ from the Baroque period which was long attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, but whose authorship has been questioned since 1981. It is one of the most widely recognisable works in the organ repertoire. It was written between 1704 and the 1750s. The piece opens with a toccata section followed by a fugue that ends in a coda, and is typical of the north German organ school of the Baroque era. Little was known about its early existence until the piece was discovered in an undated manuscript produced by Johannes Ringk. It was first published in 1833 during the early Bach Revival period through the efforts of composer Felix Mendelssohn, who also performed the piece in 1840. In the 20th century, its popularity rose above that of other organ compositions by Bach, as exemplified by its inclusion in Walt Disney's 1940 animated film Fantasia using Leopold Stokowski's orchestral transcription from 1927. The piece has been subject to a wide, and often conflicting, variety of analyses. It is often described as a type of program music depicting a storm, while its depiction in Fantasia is suggestive of non-representational or absolute music. The English musicologist Peter Williams questioned its authorship in 1981, and as of 2026, there is no scholarly consensus.

B-flat major is a major scale based on B♭, with pitches B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor. The B-flat major scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The B-flat harmonic major and melodic major scales are: Many transposing instruments are pitched in B-flat major, including the clarinet, trumpet, tenor saxophone, and soprano saxophone. As a result, B-flat major is one of the most popular keys for concert band compositions.

In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin fuga, meaning 'flight' or 'escape') is a contrapuntal, polyphonic compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches), which recurs frequently throughout the course of the composition. It is not to be confused with a fuguing tune, which is a style of song popularized by and mostly limited to early American (i.e. shape note or "Sacred Harp") music and West Gallery music. A fugue usually has three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a final entry that contains the return of the subject in the fugue's tonic key. Fugues can also have episodes, which are parts of the fugue where new material often based on the subject is heard; a stretto (plural stretti), when the fugue's subject overlaps itself in different voices, or a recapitulation. A popular compositional technique in the Baroque era, the fugue was fundamental in showing mastery of harmony and tonality as it presented counterpoint. In the Middle Ages, the term was widely used to denote any works in canonic style; however, by the Renaissance, it had come to denote specifically imitative works. Since the 17th century, the term fugue has described what is commonly regarded as the most fully developed procedure of imitative counterpoint. Most fugues open with a short main theme, called the subject, which then sounds successively in each voice. When each voice has completed its entry of the subject, the exposition is complete. This is often followed by a connecting passage, or episode, developed from previously heard material; further "entries" of the subject are then heard in related keys. Episodes (if applicable) and entries are usually alternated until the final entry of the subject, at which point the music has returned to the opening key, or tonic, which is often followed by a coda. Because of the composer's prerogative to decide most structural elements, the fugue is closer to a style of composition rather than a structural form. The form evolved during the 18th century from several earlier types of contrapuntal compositions, such as imitative ricercars, capriccios, canzonas, and fantasias. The Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), well known for his fugues, shaped his own works after those of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621), Johann Jakob Froberger (1616–1667), Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643), Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637–1707) and others. With the decline of sophisticated styles at the end of the baroque period, the fugue's central role waned, eventually giving way as sonata form and the symphony orchestra rose to a more prominent position. Nevertheless, composers continued to write and study fugues; they appear in the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), as well as modern composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) and Paul Hindemith (1895–1963).

The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a composition for organ from the Baroque period which was long attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, but whose authorship has been questioned since 1981. It is one of the most widely recognisable works in the organ repertoire. It was written between 1704 and the 1750s. The piece opens with a toccata section followed by a fugue that ends in a coda, and is typical of the north German organ school of the Baroque era. Little was known about its early existence until the piece was discovered in an undated manuscript produced by Johannes Ringk. It was first published in 1833 during the early Bach Revival period through the efforts of composer Felix Mendelssohn, who also performed the piece in 1840. In the 20th century, its popularity rose above that of other organ compositions by Bach, as exemplified by its inclusion in Walt Disney's 1940 animated film Fantasia using Leopold Stokowski's orchestral transcription from 1927. The piece has been subject to a wide, and often conflicting, variety of analyses. It is often described as a type of program music depicting a storm, while its depiction in Fantasia is suggestive of non-representational or absolute music. The English musicologist Peter Williams questioned its authorship in 1981, and as of 2026, there is no scholarly consensus.

The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a composition for organ from the Baroque period which was long attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, but whose authorship has been questioned since 1981. It is one of the most widely recognisable works in the organ repertoire. It was written between 1704 and the 1750s. The piece opens with a toccata section followed by a fugue that ends in a coda, and is typical of the north German organ school of the Baroque era. Little was known about its early existence until the piece was discovered in an undated manuscript produced by Johannes Ringk. It was first published in 1833 during the early Bach Revival period through the efforts of composer Felix Mendelssohn, who also performed the piece in 1840. In the 20th century, its popularity rose above that of other organ compositions by Bach, as exemplified by its inclusion in Walt Disney's 1940 animated film Fantasia using Leopold Stokowski's orchestral transcription from 1927. The piece has been subject to a wide, and often conflicting, variety of analyses. It is often described as a type of program music depicting a storm, while its depiction in Fantasia is suggestive of non-representational or absolute music. The English musicologist Peter Williams questioned its authorship in 1981, and as of 2026, there is no scholarly consensus.

Grete Scherzer (9 August 1932 – 11 March 2007) was an Austrian classical pianist who gained international prominence in the late 1940s and early 1950s. A child prodigy, she rose to national fame at age 14 after winning the 1947 Austrian Music Competition, finishing ahead of future notable pianists Jörg Demus, Ingrid Haebler, and Paul Badura-Skoda. Following her success at the 1949 Geneva International Music Competition, she established a prestigious concert and recording career in Great Britain, performing at major venues including Wigmore Hall and the Royal Festival Hall. A prolific recording artist for the Parlophone label, Scherzer was particularly acclaimed for her interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Ravel. She was also a pioneer in broadcast media; her performances were frequently featured on the BBC Third Programme, and she was among the first pianists to perform on British television. In 1957, following her marriage to the British-born anthroposophical architect Rex Raab, Scherzer withdrew from the international concert stage and moved to Germany, where she lived until her death at 74. Interest in her musical legacy was revitalised in 2024 with the remastering and reissue of her early 1950s recordings.

This is a list of compositions by Felix Mendelssohn.

On two occasions, Felix Mendelssohn composed music for William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream (in German Ein Sommernachtstraum). First in 1826, near the start of his career, he wrote a concert overture (Op. 21). Later, in 1842, five years before his death, he wrote incidental music (Op. 61) for a production of the play, into which he incorporated the existing overture. The incidental music includes the famous "Wedding March".

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 1809 – 4 November 1847), known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music, organ music and chamber music. His best-known works include the overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream (which includes his "Wedding March"), the Italian and Scottish Symphonies, the oratorios St. Paul and Elijah, the Hebrides Overture, the mature Violin Concerto, the String Octet, and the melody used in the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words are his most famous solo piano compositions. Mendelssohn's grandfather was the Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, but Felix was initially raised without religion until he was baptised aged seven into the Reformed Christian church. He was recognised early as a musical prodigy, but his parents were cautious and did not seek to capitalise on his talent. His sister Fanny received a similar musical education and was a talented composer and pianist in her own right; some of her early songs were published under her brother's name and her Easter Sonata was for a time mistakenly attributed to him after being lost and rediscovered in the 1970s. Mendelssohn enjoyed early success in Germany, and revived interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, notably with his performance of the St Matthew Passion in 1829. He became well received in his travels throughout Europe as a composer, conductor and soloist; his ten visits to Britain – during which many of his major works were premiered – form an important part of his adult career. His essentially conservative musical tastes set him apart from more adventurous musical contemporaries, such as Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Charles-Valentin Alkan and Hector Berlioz. The Leipzig Conservatory, which he founded, became a bastion of this anti-radical outlook. After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and antisemitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his creative originality has been re-evaluated. He is now among the most popular composers of the Romantic era.

Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" in C major, written in 1842, is one of the best known of the pieces from his suite of incidental music (Op. 61) to Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. It is one of the most frequently used wedding marches, generally being played on a church pipe organ. At weddings in many Western countries, this piece is commonly used as a recessional, though frequently stripped of its episodes in this context. It is frequently paired with the "Bridal Chorus" from Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin, or with Jeremiah Clarke's "Prince of Denmark's March", both of which are often played for the entry of the bride. The first known instance of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" being used at a wedding was when Dorothy Carew wed Tom Daniel at St Peter's Church, Tiverton, England, on 2 June 1847 when it was performed by organist Samuel Reay. It became popular at weddings when it was selected by Victoria, The Princess Royal for her marriage to Prince Frederick William of Prussia on 25 January 1858. The bride was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, who loved Mendelssohn's music and for whom Mendelssohn often played while on his visits to Britain. An organ on which Mendelssohn gave recitals of the "Wedding March", among other works, is housed in St Ann's Church, Tottenham. Franz Liszt wrote a virtuoso transcription of the "Wedding March and Dance of the Elves" (S. 410) in 1849–50. Based on Liszt's transcription, Vladimir Horowitz then transcribed the "Wedding March" into a virtuoso showpiece for piano and played it as an encore at his concerts.

There are 466 known musical compositions by Fanny Hensel: The first section of this page lists compositions by Opus number (Op.), in order of publication (which only partially covers Fanny Hensel's output). The second section lists all compositions chronologically, according to Renate Hellwig-Unruh's catalogue of compositions by Fanny Hensel (published in 2000), other than those for which later research established a different date of composition (as is the case for the Easter Sonata).

The six sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord BWV 1014–1019 by Johann Sebastian Bach are works in trio sonata form, with the two upper parts in the harpsichord and violin over a bass line supplied by the harpsichord and an optional viola da gamba. Unlike baroque sonatas for solo instrument and continuo, where the realisation of the figured bass was left to the discretion of the performer, the keyboard part in the sonatas was almost entirely specified by Bach. They were probably mostly composed during Bach's final years in Cöthen between 1720 and 1723, before he moved to Leipzig. The extant sources for the collection span the whole of Bach's period in Leipzig, during which time he continued to make changes to the score.

C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, and B♭. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E♭ major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The C harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:

In music, perpetuum mobile (English pronunciation /pərˌpɛtjʊəm ˈmoʊbɪleɪ/, /ˈmoʊbɪli/; Latin, literally, "perpetual motion"), moto perpetuo (Italian), mouvement perpétuel (French), movimento perpétuo (Portuguese) movimiento perpetuo (Spanish), is a term used to describe a rapidly executed and persistently maintained figuration, usually of notes of equal length. Over time it has taken on two distinct applications: first, as describing entire musical compositions or passages within them that are characterised by a continuous stream of notes, usually but not always at a rapid tempo; and second, as describing entire compositions, or extended passages within them that are meant to be played in a repetitious fashion, often an indefinite number of times.

The Piano Sonata No. 2 in B♭ minor, Op. 35, is a piano sonata in four movements by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. Chopin completed the work while living in George Sand's manor in Nohant, some 250 km (160 mi) south of Paris, a year before it was published in 1840. The first of the composer's three mature sonatas (the others being the Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 and the Sonata for Piano and Cello in G minor, Op. 65), the work is considered to be one of the greatest piano sonatas of the literature. The third movement of the Piano Sonata No. 2 is Chopin's famous funeral march (French: Marche funèbre; Polish: Marsz żałobny) which was composed at least two years before the remainder of the work and has remained, by itself, one of Chopin's most popular compositions. The Piano Sonata No. 2 carries allusions and reminiscences of music by J. S. Bach and by Ludwig van Beethoven; Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 12 also has a funeral march as its third movement. A typical performance of Chopin's second sonata lasts between 21 and 25 minutes, depending on whether the repetition of the first movement's exposition is observed. While the Piano Sonata No. 2 gained instant popularity with the public, critical reception was initially more doubtful. Robert Schumann, among other critics, argued that the work was structurally inferior and that Chopin "could not quite handle sonata form", a criticism that did not withstand time. The work has been recorded by numerous pianists and is regularly programmed in concerts and piano competitions. The Marche funèbre exists in countless arrangements and has been performed at funerals all over the world (including Chopin's own), having become an archetypal evocation of death.

The Piano Sonata No. 2 in B♭ minor, Op. 35, is a piano sonata in four movements by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. Chopin completed the work while living in George Sand's manor in Nohant, some 250 km (160 mi) south of Paris, a year before it was published in 1840. The first of the composer's three mature sonatas (the others being the Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 and the Sonata for Piano and Cello in G minor, Op. 65), the work is considered to be one of the greatest piano sonatas of the literature. The third movement of the Piano Sonata No. 2 is Chopin's famous funeral march (French: Marche funèbre; Polish: Marsz żałobny) which was composed at least two years before the remainder of the work and has remained, by itself, one of Chopin's most popular compositions. The Piano Sonata No. 2 carries allusions and reminiscences of music by J. S. Bach and by Ludwig van Beethoven; Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 12 also has a funeral march as its third movement. A typical performance of Chopin's second sonata lasts between 21 and 25 minutes, depending on whether the repetition of the first movement's exposition is observed. While the Piano Sonata No. 2 gained instant popularity with the public, critical reception was initially more doubtful. Robert Schumann, among other critics, argued that the work was structurally inferior and that Chopin "could not quite handle sonata form", a criticism that did not withstand time. The work has been recorded by numerous pianists and is regularly programmed in concerts and piano competitions. The Marche funèbre exists in countless arrangements and has been performed at funerals all over the world (including Chopin's own), having become an archetypal evocation of death.

The "Rondo capriccioso", Op. 14, MWV U67, is a composition for solo piano by Felix Mendelssohn. The work consists of two linked sections: a lyrical Andante in E major and a virtuosic Presto in E minor. Mendelssohn originally composed the Presto as a standalone étude in 1828. In 1830, while in Munich, he revised the work for the pianist Delphine von Schauroth, adding the slow introduction to create the form it is known in today. The revised piece was published in 1831 by Pietro Mechetti. The "Rondo capriccioso" is thematically integrated, with the opening melody of the Andante forming the basis for the main theme of the Presto. Its structure, combining a slow introduction with a fast finale, was influenced by the works of Carl Maria von Weber and served as a model for some of Mendelssohn's later compositions for piano and orchestra.

A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, which is nearly always accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque period.

The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a composition for organ from the Baroque period which was long attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, but whose authorship has been questioned since 1981. It is one of the most widely recognisable works in the organ repertoire. It was written between 1704 and the 1750s. The piece opens with a toccata section followed by a fugue that ends in a coda, and is typical of the north German organ school of the Baroque era. Little was known about its early existence until the piece was discovered in an undated manuscript produced by Johannes Ringk. It was first published in 1833 during the early Bach Revival period through the efforts of composer Felix Mendelssohn, who also performed the piece in 1840. In the 20th century, its popularity rose above that of other organ compositions by Bach, as exemplified by its inclusion in Walt Disney's 1940 animated film Fantasia using Leopold Stokowski's orchestral transcription from 1927. The piece has been subject to a wide, and often conflicting, variety of analyses. It is often described as a type of program music depicting a storm, while its depiction in Fantasia is suggestive of non-representational or absolute music. The English musicologist Peter Williams questioned its authorship in 1981, and as of 2026, there is no scholarly consensus.

Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach sometime around his years as court organist to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar (1708–1713).

C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, and B♭. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E♭ major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The C harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:

The "Rondo capriccioso", Op. 14, MWV U67, is a composition for solo piano by Felix Mendelssohn. The work consists of two linked sections: a lyrical Andante in E major and a virtuosic Presto in E minor. Mendelssohn originally composed the Presto as a standalone étude in 1828. In 1830, while in Munich, he revised the work for the pianist Delphine von Schauroth, adding the slow introduction to create the form it is known in today. The revised piece was published in 1831 by Pietro Mechetti. The "Rondo capriccioso" is thematically integrated, with the opening melody of the Andante forming the basis for the main theme of the Presto. Its structure, combining a slow introduction with a fast finale, was influenced by the works of Carl Maria von Weber and served as a model for some of Mendelssohn's later compositions for piano and orchestra.

This is a list of solo piano pieces by Felix Mendelssohn.

A scherzo (, UK also , Italian: [ˈskertso]; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often refers to a movement that replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or string quartet. The term can also refer to a fast-moving humorous composition that may or may not be part of a larger work.

On two occasions, Felix Mendelssohn composed music for William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream (in German Ein Sommernachtstraum). First in 1826, near the start of his career, he wrote a concert overture (Op. 21). Later, in 1842, five years before his death, he wrote incidental music (Op. 61) for a production of the play, into which he incorporated the existing overture. The incidental music includes the famous "Wedding March".

On two occasions, Felix Mendelssohn composed music for William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream (in German Ein Sommernachtstraum). First in 1826, near the start of his career, he wrote a concert overture (Op. 21). Later, in 1842, five years before his death, he wrote incidental music (Op. 61) for a production of the play, into which he incorporated the existing overture. The incidental music includes the famous "Wedding March".

Hungarian Romantic composer Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was especially prolific, composing more than 700 works. A virtuoso pianist himself, much of his output is dedicated to solo works for the instrument and is particularly technically demanding. The primary cataloguing system for his compositions was developed by Humphrey Searle; it has been thoroughly revamped by Michael Short and Leslie Howard.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

This article lists the various treatments given by Franz Liszt to the works of almost 100 other composers. These treatments included transcriptions for other instruments (predominantly solo piano), arrangements, orchestrations, fantaisies, reminiscences, paraphrases, illustrations, variations, and editions. Liszt also extensively treated his own works in a similar manner, but these are not tallied here—neither are his treatments of national (or "folk") melodies whose composers are unknown, nor other anonymous works. In most cases, Liszt arranged only one or two pieces by a composer, but he delved more deeply into the works of Bach, Beethoven, Bellini, Berlioz, Chopin, Donizetti, Gounod, Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, Mozart, Rossini, Schubert, Schumann, Verdi, Wagner, and Weber. The earliest-born composer whose works Liszt dealt with was Orlande de Lassus (born c. 1532). Jacques Arcadelt was born earlier (c. 1507), but Liszt's treatment was not of Arcadelt's original work, rather of a setting by Pierre-Louis Dietsch loosely based on Arcadelt. The last composer to die whose works Liszt dealt with was Géza Zichy (1849–1924).

Karl Ulrich Schnabel (August 6, 1909 – August 27, 2001) was an Austrian pianist. Schnabel was the son of pianist Artur Schnabel and operatic contralto and lieder singer Therese Behr and elder brother of the American actor Stefan Schnabel. An internationally celebrated teacher of the piano, his students include, among others, Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, Richard Goode, Kwong-Kwong Ma, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Jon Nakamatsu, Murray Perahia, and Peter Serkin.

D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F♯, G, A, B, and C♯. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The D harmonic major and melodic major scales are:

E-flat major is a major scale based on E♭, consisting of the pitches E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E♭ minor, (or enharmonically D♯ minor). The E♭ major scale is: The E-flat harmonic major and melodic major scales are

Variations sérieuses, Op. 54, MWV U 156, is a composition for solo piano by Felix Mendelssohn consisting of a theme in D minor and 17 variations. It was completed on 4 June 1841. A typical performance lasts about eleven minutes. The work was written as part of a campaign to raise funds for the erection of a large bronze statue of Ludwig van Beethoven in his home town of Bonn. The publisher Pietro Mechetti asked Mendelssohn to contribute to a 'Beethoven Album', published in January 1842, which also included pieces by Liszt, Chopin, Moscheles and others, of which the proceeds would go to the Monument. (Schumann's Fantasie in C was the final result of a work originally intended for the same purpose). Mendelssohn is known to have written three sets of piano variations, but only this one was published during his lifetime. The autograph manuscript of the set is preserved in the Jagiellonian Library. Many of the variations require a virtuoso technique. Mendelssohn's good friend Ignaz Moscheles stated "I play the Variations sérieuses again and again, each time I enjoy the beauty again." Ferruccio Busoni also liked the work very much. Many pianists have recorded it, including Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, Alicia de Larrocha, Rena Kyriakou, Vladimir Sofronitsky and Murray Perahia.