Three other great recordings

Erato Quartett Basel The Erato Quartett places Fanny Mendelssohn’s Quartet as its main work in a hugely enterprising progamme of quartets by women composers from the 18th and 19th centuries. Like the Ebènes, this Swiss quartet delivers a full-blooded and intensely expressive account accentuated by a richly resonant recording. What perhaps is missing is a similar variety of timbre and nuance. Nonetheless, those wishing to explore Fanny Mendelssohn’s work in the context of other undeservedly neglected repertory will not be disappointed. (CPO 999 6792)

Lafayette String Quartet

This Canadian group offers a more introverted approach to the first and third movements than the Erato Quartett and Quatuor Ebène, with purer timbres and less intense vibrato. On the other hand, the playing in the Scherzo and Finale is every bit as energetic and exuberant. Once again, they are edged out by the Ebènes in terms of vision and technical virtuosity, but programming the work alongside Schubert’s Death and the Maiden quartet is inspired. (CBC MVCD1149)

Cavaleri Quartet

This youthful British quartet delivers a fresh and incisive account as part of an enjoyable boxed set of Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn’s works for string quartet. There are some awkward tempo fluctuations in the second movement, which suggests the possibility that two different takes of the Scherzo were spliced together. But setting this aside, the performance more than holds its own, even if it is not quite as imaginatively shaped as in the recording from the Quatuor Ebène. (Champs Hill Records CHRCD085)