Brother & Sister in Music

Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn

We focus on the music of brother and sister, Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn.

Christopher Cook, Deal Music & Arts Chair Elect, is a well-known writer and broadcaster whose voice will be familiar to many. He began his career in television, producing for BBC-2 and Channel 4. He has broadcast regularly on BBC Radios 3, 4, 5 and the BBC World Service.

Christopher is a regular contributor to BBC Music Magazine and has contributed to International Record Review and The Gramophone. He has chaired pre-concert events for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Hallé Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Study Evenings at the Royal Opera House, where he also interviewed for their ‘Meet the…’ programmes, and Glyndebourne Opera. He curated several years of pre-performance talks at English National Opera”

Christopher was the Director of the Cheltenham Festival of Literature in 2004 and was Chair of the Cheltenham International Music Festival until 2013. He is currently Vice-Chair of the Trustees of the Bishopsgate Institute in the City of London.  He is also a walking encyclopaedia of the arts!

In this film, Christopher talks about the work of siblings Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn in the context of their relationship in C19th Berlin. This film was made during the lockdown period of Covid 19 as a resource for Deal Music & Arts’ audience.

We give links to performances that reflect the music Christopher discusses.  Every attempt has been made to source material that is from legitimate organisations or from the artists themselves.

Brother & Sister in Music

Christopher Cook talks about Felix and Fanny

Schumann Quartett

Quartet No. 6 in F minor

River Oaks Chamber Orchestra

Fanny Mendelssohn’s Overture in C major

Quatuor Ebène

Quatuor en Mib majeur

Els Biesemans

Januar from Das Jahr

Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig

A Midsummer Night’s Dream