Mendelssohn: String Quartets, Vol. 1
If you believe the Schwann Opus catalog--I don't!--this disc is the only  survivor of a set of three containing Mendelssohn's complete string quartets.  His quartets, like much of his music, aren't nearly as well known as they  deserve to be. The Quartet in D, a substantial piece, reflects Mendelssohn's  typical sunny personal and musical disposition. But his final quartet, written  during the brief period between his sister's death and his own, is as starkly  tragic a piece as anyone of the era composed. These performances, by members of  the San Francisco Symphony, are among the best Mendelssohn ever recorded. The  disc is a spectacular bargain.--Leslie Gerber