🇩🇪Felix Mendelssohn ： Fantasia and Variations on Weber’s Preziosa in c-moll MWV.O9

Based on a melody from Weber’s incidental music Preziosa, this work combines a free fantasia with a series of variations. In the opening, the treatment of the melody shifts and gradually establishes the direction of the music; thereafter, its character is retained while changes in rhythm, figuration, and register broaden its expressive range. The contrasts between quiet passages and brilliant movement, the theme’s varied appearances, and the mounting excitement toward the close are among its attractions. In performance, it is important to clarify the individuality of each variation without interrupting the flow from the fantasia into the variations. The melody should remain audible even in inner voices, while decorative passages call for both lightness and precision.