Rondo brillant, for piano & orchestra in E flat major, Op. 29

• Date: January 29, 1834
• Composer: Felix Mendelssohn
• Period: Romantic (1820-1869)

Review

Although a fine virtuoso pianist himself, German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) composed his Rondo brillant, Op. 29, for his former teacher and later colleague Ignaz Moscheles. Written in 1834 when Mendelssohn was 25, the Rondo brillant is his most technically difficult work for piano and orchestra, demanding strength, dexterity, and stamina from the pianist, all characteristics Moscheles had demonstrated in his own virtuoso works for piano and orchestra. Without introduction and with an almost abrupt ending, Mendelssohn's Rondo brillant seems concerned more with pianistic virtuosity than with compositional virtuosity. With its truly brilliant main theme, its charming but still driven secondary themes, and its galloping rhythms in the orchestra, the Rondo brillant literally gives the impression of the pianist as rider mounted on a racing stallion. Although the virtuosity of the Rondo brillant was soon surpassed by the super-virtuosity of Liszt and the later Romantics, Mendelssohn's work remains more delightful than many of the more elaborate works. ~ James Leonard, Rovi

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title	Date
F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 & others	1997
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Complete Solo Concertos	1994
Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos	2006
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Works For Piano And Orchestra
Mendelssohn: Complete Concertos	2008
Mendelssohn: Concerto in D minor for Violin, Piano & Strings; Capriccio brilliant Op. 22; Rondo brilliant Op. 29	1995
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerti Nos. 1 & 2; Capriccio Brillant; Rondo Brillant	1997
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto	1989
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto	1989
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1; Capriccio Brillante; etc.	2006
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos	1996
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2	1993
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2	1997
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2	2010
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Works by Ireland & Scott	2003
Mendelssohn: The Complete Masterpieces [Box Set]	2009
Mendelssohn: Works for Piano & Orchestra	1997
Moura Lympany plays Khachaturian, Mendelssohn, Poulenc, Etc.	1998
Rondo Brillante: Early Romantic Works for Piano and Orchestra	2006
Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals/Litolff: Scherzo/Fauré: Ballade for Piano and Orchestra/Mendelssohn: Rondo Brill	1988

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