Mendelssohn-Bartholdy & Baranova: The Star of Mendelssohn Marina Baranova

• Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 - 1847): "The Midwinter Night's Dream" Christmas Scherzo:
• 1 Bartholdy: "The Midwinter Night's Dream" Christmas Scherzo 04:39
• Songs With Words:
• 2 Bartholdy: Songs With Words: Greensleeves, Op. 19 No. 6 02:00
• 3 Bartholdy: Songs With Words: Ihr Töchter Zions, Op. 67 No. 2. 02:20
• 4 Bartholdy: Songs With Words: Auld Lang Syne, Op. 30 No. 1 04:11
• Es wird ein Stern aus Jacob Aufgehn:
• 5 Bartholdy: Es wird ein Stern aus Jacob Aufgehn 04:14
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Improvisation in E Major  (Version for Piano):
• 6 Bartholdy: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Improvisation in E Major  (Version for Piano) 02:32
• Trinklied - Paraphrase:
• 7 Bartholdy: Trinklied - Paraphrase 02:14
• Songs With Words:
• 8 Bartholdy: Songs With Words: O come, All Ye Faithfull extended, Op. 19 No. 1 03:57
• Traditional: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (2025 Version):
• 9 Traditional: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (2025 Version) 04:44
• Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886): Auf Flügeln des Gesanges (After Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy):
• 10 Liszt: Auf Flügeln des Gesanges (After Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy) 04:17
• Christmas Tree:
• 11 Liszt: Christmas Tree: Carillon 01:48
• 12 Liszt: Christmas Tree: In dulci jubilo /The Sheperds at the Manger 04:03
• Marina Baranova (b. 1981): The Sense of Cohesion:
• 13 Baranova: The Sense of Cohesion 01:59
• Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Improvisation in F-Sharp Major (Version for Piano):
• 14 Bartholdy: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Improvisation in F-Sharp Major (Version for Piano) 03:02
• Total Runtime 46:00

Info for Mendelssohn-Bartholdy & Baranova: The Star of Mendelssohn

As winter approaches and the lights twinkle in the windows, a time of reflection and music begins for many. For Marina Baranova, born in Kharkiv and a resident of Germany for many years, Christmas is far more than just a festive occasion. It's a moment where cultures, traditions, and personal stories converge. With her new album, "The Star of Mendelssohn," she invites listeners to cross this bridge between worlds—and rediscover Mendelssohn.

Baranova, whose musical roots are diverse and vibrant, understood music as a universal language from an early age. Influenced by the Eastern European piano school and a home filled with Bach, Mozart, jazz, and blues, her childhood fostered the openness that characterizes her work today. Christmas was initially foreign to her—her Jewish heritage and Soviet upbringing meant she largely ignored the holiday for a long time. It was only through her children that Christmas became a truly personal experience for her: “For me, Christmas is a festival of love with utopian potential. It’s a time when people come together, empathy and understanding grow, and differences can be overcome,” says Baranova.

This experience of living between cultures is also reflected in the life of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The composer, born into a Jewish family but raised Protestant, lived his entire life navigating the tension between different identities. His music, deeply rooted in German Romanticism, also bears traces of his Jewish heritage—a tension that takes on a particular depth at Christmastime. “For me, Mendelssohn’s music is like a light between worlds. It unites the festive, the intimate, the spiritual—and always remains open to new perspectives,” says Baranova.

With "The Star Of Mendelssohn," Baranova embarks on an extraordinary experiment: she combines Mendelssohn's famous "Songs Without Words" with traditional Christmas carols. Through improvisational approaches, she allows melodies like "What Child Is This?" and "Adeste, Fideles" to flow seamlessly into the musical landscape of Mendelssohn's pieces. "It was fascinating to experience how harmoniously these songs could be combined. Suddenly, it seemed as if they had always belonged together," says Baranova. The opening track is particularly impressive: an arrangement of Rachmaninoff's piano version of the Scherzo from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," into which she weaves eight well-known Christmas carols—a "Midwinter Night's Dream" full of lightness and wit.

But the album offers more than just artful arrangements: it is a testament to the power of music as a bridge between cultures. Baranova improvises on Mendelssohn's choral works, paraphrases Goethe's "Drinking Song" in the spirit of Liszt, and breathes new life into a Mendelssohn melody with "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Throughout, she remains true to herself—a pianist, composer, improviser, and synesthete who transforms tones into colors and discovers a new world in every sound.

"I believe that music can help us see what connects us, even if we come from different traditions. Especially at Christmas, I feel how close the Jewish Hanukkah and the Christian festival are—both celebrate light, hope, and togetherness," says Baranova. Her album is more than a tribute to Mendelssohn: it is a plea for openness, empathy, and the power of art to transcend boundaries.

"I believe that music can help us see what unites us, even if we come from different traditions. Especially at Christmas, I feel how close the Jewish Hanukkah and the Christian festival are—both celebrate light, hope, and togetherness," says Baranova. Her album is more than a tribute to Mendelssohn: it is a plea for openness, empathy, and the power of art to overcome boundaries.

Those who listen to "The Star of Mendelssohn" experience a Christmas album that transcends the familiar. It combines the festive warmth and spiritual depth of the Christmas season with the radiant music of a composer whose life and work were marked by the search for identity and reconciliation. Marina Baranova offers her listeners a fresh perspective on Mendelssohn—and on what Christmas can truly be: a celebration that unites us all.

Marina Baranova, piano

Marina Baranova
Born into a musical family in Ukraine, Marina Baranova began playing the piano when she was five years old. Just two years later, she was accepted into a music school for talented children in her home town of Kharkov. At age 11, Marina won first prize at the International Competition for Young Pianists in Ukraine, which preceded her first international concert tour in Finland.

In the late 90’s she moved to Germany to begin studying with Professor Vladimir Krainev at the University for Music, Theatre and Media in Hannover. Throughout her studies in Hannover, she won at least one internationally renowned competition every year. Marina still resides in Hannover, her base with which she returns from international tours across famous concert halls in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Poland, Israel, Latin America and Thailand.

Marina’s passionate musical interpretation and performances have won over the public and press alike at a wide range of festivals. Festivals such as the International Piano Festival Ferruccio Busoni and the Merano Classic Festival in South Tyrol, Italy, the Viennese Music Week, the Beethoven and Schumann festivals in Bonn, the Granada Piano festival, Schumann Fest Week, Leipzig, and the Beethoven Night in Heidelberg have all seen Marina enhance her international reputation. A sought-after soloist, Marina has performed with the German Radio Philharmonic, the Würtembergischen Philharmonic conducted by Ola Rudner, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Quartet, the Slaska Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bromberg Radio Orchestra conducted by Tadeusz Strugala, the Romanian Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra and the Jerusalem Strings in Yad Vashem, Israel. Her performances have been broadcast on German national TV and Radio including her debut concerto performance in Berlin and her concert performance in the Trierer Kurfürstlichen Palace.

Her debut CD „Marina Baranova plays Schumann“, released by Pianissimo Music in 2012, was given rave reviews by the press. Jaochim Kaiser described her as a skilled and captivating interpreter of Schumann’s music.

Alongside her career as a classical pianist, Marina’s interests also lie in cross-over projects in Jazz, New Music and World Music. For example, She has been involved in numerous world premiere performances of composer Damian Marhulets’ electro-acoustic compositions, including „STELLAR - Wandering Stars Suite“, on which she collaborated with award winning guitarist Frank Bungarten, and „Triangulation“, which was performed at the Beethoven Fest in Bonn. In the world music arena, Marina performed with klezmer legend and clarinettist Giora Feidman at the Vienna Konzerthaus with a program of Jewish songs and songs by Schubert. Shortly following this project, Marina was asked to perform as a guest soloist with Feidman in a CD production, where they recorded numerous compositions together.

Marina Baranova is herself also a talented composer. Her latest CD „Firebird“, where she collaborates with renowned percussionist Murat Coşkun, is completely made up of her own compositions. „Firebird“ was released in 2013 under the Pianissimo Music label and was distributed by Edel Music. Marina and Murat are also touring this program together as a duo.

This album contains no booklet.