When Mendelssohn learned from his publisher Nikolaus Simrock that he was to receive an additional honorarium for a part of his “Lieder ohne Worte”, he effusively thanked him for this gift. However, the gift that Mendelssohn, in his turn, made to posterity with these Songs Without Words could probably not have been foreseen even by him at the time. These “Original Melodies”, “Romanzen” or “Clavierstücke”, which only later gained the title “Lieder ohne Worte”, enjoyed great success during the composer’s lifetime, and should be included amongst the most rewarding pieces of 19th-century piano literature. Our volume contains the complete “Lieder ohne Worte” published during his lifetime and posthumously.
當孟德爾頌從出版商尼古拉斯·西姆羅克那裡得知他將因創作部分「無詞歌」而獲得額外酬金時,他欣喜若狂地表達了謝意。然而,孟德爾頌用這些「無詞歌」為後世留下的寶貴遺產,或許連他當時也未曾預料到。這些最初被稱為「原創旋律」、「浪漫曲」或「鋼琴曲」(後來才被正式命名為「無詞歌」)的作品,在孟德爾頌生前就已廣受歡迎,堪稱19世紀鋼琴文獻中最傑出的作品之一。本書收錄了孟德爾頌生前及身後出版的全部「無詞歌」。