Fanny is dead. Felix Mendelssohn’s beloved sister had died suddenly. Shortly after his return to Leipzig from his trip to England in May 1847 – somewhat unwell himself – he received the shocking news of his sister’s untimely death. She had collapsed after a rehearsal at their parents’ home in Berlin. He falls apart. His last completed work marks a break with everything that had gone before. Lichtwechsel. Darkness takes root. Everything has changed.

Henry Purcell was deemed the greatest of English composers, celebrated and legendary even in his own lifetime. Henry Purcell died at the very young age of 36, at the zenith of his career; the citizens of London accompanied his casket to its burial in Westminster Abbey. He was a pioneer of English music, a role model and influencer of subsequent generations, through to the present day.

The Alinde Quartett can be found happily stage-hopping all across Europe. The quartet takes its name from Schubert’s song “Alinde,” a sweet, winsom reflection on young love.