Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

Trio D minor op. 49

This Trio op. 49 for violin, violoncello and piano was composed in 1839. In a letter dated March 21, 1840 to Ignaz Moscheles, Mendelssohn mentioned an inquiry by the publisher Ewer in London to arrange this trio for flute instead of violin. It is assumed that Mendelssohn either arranged the trio accordingly or at least authorised such an arrangement. Transforming the violin part into a flute part is quite astounding and was handled so freely and ingeniously in a variety of aspects that we can only assume that the composer himself could dare to come up with the solutions in question. Interesting information as to the history and development of this edition is given in the preface.