Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

Rondo capriccioso op. 14

On 13 June 1830 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy finished his Rondo capriccioso. After the Leipzig publishers Hofmeister and Breitkopf & Härtel had refused to publish the work - probably because of the seemingly excessive fee demanded by the composer -, the work eventually was published by Mechetti in Vienna and J. B. Cramer, Addison & Beale in London almost at the same time. Originally intended as a study, Mendelssohn revised the piece and added an andante introduction, thus managing to create one of his most outstanding piano works which has maintained an unfailing popularity until today. The new edition of the Vienna Urtext Edition is based on all extant sources, with the first edition from London being of particular significance.