Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4

Also available from Andrew Manze and the North German Radio Philharmonic on Pentatone:
Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5

Mendelssohn's warmly lyrical and evocative Scottish Symphony is paired with his confident and precocious first symphony for the first in a series of recordings by the conductor Andrew Manze and the NDR Radiophilharmonie. It's no wonder that Robert Schumann dubbed Mendelssohn the "Mozart of the nineteenth century"; with his felicitous gift for melody and meticulous craftsmanship, his music positively brims with youthful spontaneity and exuberance, blending dreamy poetic flights with moments of affecting tenderness and serenity. Inspired by his visits to Scotland and the Hebrides and the romantic novels of Sir Walter Scott, his outstanding Symphony No. 3 in A minor is a colorful reminiscence of its rugged landscapes steeped in history, and an affectionate homage to the proud Highlanders he met there. It was an instant success on its first performance and rivals the popularity of the overture The Hebrides, also inspired by the splendor of Scotland. No less impressive in his masterly Symphony No. 1 in C minor, composed when he was just 15 years old. From its noisy and impetuous opening to its triumphant conclusion, this confident and adventurous work shows the influence of Mozart, haydn and Weber but the effect is unmistakeably Mendelssohnian with fugal passages, unforgettable melodies and busy, inventive scoring.

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REVIEW:

In the Third, Manze encourages his excellent modern-instrument orchestra to play with a period lightness, paring down the string tone (vibrato sparingly but expressively applied) and giving close attention to wind detail and internal balance. The Adagio, taken at a flowing but flexible tempo, has a chaste beauty, the violin melody eloquently sung yet with Mendelssohn’s prescribed bowing, dynamics and accents precisely observed—a world away from the undifferentiated sostenuto of many older conductors. As to the symphony’s ‘problematic’ coda, after listening to Manze’s mounting exhilaration, culminating in a final euphoric blaze, you might wonder what all the fuss was about.

– Gramophone

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Since this is labeled Volume 1 in what is projected to be a series of releases titled Mendelssohn in Birmingham , it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the name of the project refers to performances of Mendelssohn’s works by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Birmingham, not to works that Mendelssohn may have composed while in Birmingham, or that have some particular association with that city. In fact, out of 10 visits the composer made to England between 1829 and 1847, his only work specifically linked to Birmingham is his oratorio Read more , which was premiered there in 1846 at the Triennial Music Festival in an English translation of the text by William Bartholomew. Nonetheless, Mendelssohn was beloved of the Brits and may have been more popular in England throughout much of the 19th century than he was in his native Germany.

It was Mendelssohn’s first visit to the British Isles in 1829 that gave rise to two of the works on this disc, the “Scottish” Symphony (No. 3) and The Hebrides Overture , aka Fingal’s Cave . After captivating London audiences with a number of appearances, the composer embarked on a walking tour of Scotland with his friend Karl Klingemann, author of the original German text to Elijah ; and it’s said that the Symphony was inspired by Mendelssohn’s visit to the ruins of a chapel at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. The work was not completed, though, until 1842.

Inspiration for The Hebrides Overture came during the same Scottish adventure, when Mendelssohn set sail for Staffa, an island in the Hebrides archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. I suppose it’s not really funny, but there does seem to be a bit of cognitive dissonance between the composer’s idealization of the sea in all its grandeur, gripping power, and potential peril on the one hand, and on the other, his violent bout of mal de mer during the crossing, on which Klingemann later reported, “Unfortunately, Mendelssohn was seasick throughout the day. My travelling companion is on better terms with the sea as a composer than as an individual with a stomach.” Somewhere I recall reading, though I can’t remember where, that by the time they reached the island, Mendelssohn was so green around the gills that he expressed the desire to remain behind and die there rather than face the return trip.

Completed in 1830, the “Reformation” Symphony received the number 5 when it was published posthumously in 1868, but chronologically it’s second in order of the composer’s symphonies. Mendelssohn began work on the score with the intent of it being performed in Berlin at the festivities celebrating the tercentennial anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession in 1530, a document central to the Lutheran church. But a series of setbacks delayed completion of the work until just a month before the scheduled event, and the committee in charge of the festival rejected Mendelssohn’s submission of the Symphony for performance. An underlying motive of anti-Semitism has been suggested as playing a role in the rejection.

On this brand new, generously filled Chandos SACD are surely three of Mendelssohn’s most popular purely orchestral works, and that, as always, means there are lots of competing versions. No other single disc that I’m aware of, though, and certainly not on an SACD, offers all three of these works together. That, of course, wouldn’t necessarily be a selling point if the performances weren’t competitive, but I’m happy to report they are, and then some.

However one feels about Simon Rattle’s conducting from an interpretive point of view, it can’t be denied that his technical and managerial skills were put to good use during his tenure at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1980 to 1998, for he put the orchestra on the map as a world-class ensemble, a reputation it has continued to enjoy under Rattle’s successors, Sakari Oramo and now Andris Nelsons. Edward Gardner, who takes the podium for this Mendelssohn recording, was appointed the orchestra’s principal guest conductor, effective as of 2011, overlapping his stint as music director of the English National Opera.

The “Italian” Symphony leaps off the page in Gardner’s performance with a buoyant spring in its step, and maintains the music’s youthful energy and high spirits throughout the first movement (with repeat). It’s the last movement, though, the Saltarello, and its tricky triplet figure with a rest in the middle of it that demands extremely controlled articulation. Until now, I haven’t heard it done better, or as well, as John Eliot Gardiner did it with the Vienna Philharmonic on a 1997 Deutsche Grammophon recording. But not only does Gardner and the CBSO match Gardiner and the VPO in precision of articulation, they shave five seconds off the latters’ speed—5: 24 vs. 5:29. Considering how frequently Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony has been famously recorded—Toscanini, Charles Munch, and Bernstein come to mind—it must have been somewhat daunting for Gardner to join the fray, but his performance is an impressive one that can stand with the best.

The sea rolls and heaves, as it should, in The Hebrides Overture , and the water spouts spray their foam, as the storm gathers strength in the well-portrayed fugal section. I’m not sure what, if anything, any conductor or orchestra could do to improve on this performance; it’s beautifully played and perfectly timed from beginning to end.

The CBSO’s brass players have a real opportunity to show what they’re made of in the introduction to the “Reformation” Symphony, and they don’t disappoint. The section is strong, superbly well balanced and blended, and delivers the opening strains with an imposing sense of gravitas. Beyond that, I hope you’ll forgive me if I say I have a hard time working up much enthusiasm for this Symphony, regardless of who performs it. Mendelssohn seems to have been incapable of writing anything that wasn’t a marvel of technical craftsmanship, but not everything he composed is a work of sheer inspired genius; and in my opinion, there’s more of the former in this score than the latter. Nonetheless, Gardner and the CBSO make one of the better cases for it in recent memory. The Andante is played with a special incandescent expressivity.

The full-spectrum Chandos SACD is resplendent, with an especially deep, firm bass. Strongly recommended.

- Fanfare

With this third volume (the first two were reviewed in 12/96), Nicholas Ward and the Northern Chamber Orchestra complete their series of Mendelssohn’s youthful string symphonies, joining others who include the Hanover Band (RCA), the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam (BIS, 6/94, 9/95 and 11/96), the Concerto Cologne, the English String Orchestra (Nimbus, 3/89) and the London Festival Orchestra (Hyperion, 12/91). Once completely unknown outside the library, these delightful and in many ways enterprising works have been a natural draw to string orchestras, and since they demand plenty in the way of instrumental skill and liveliness but, really, little in the way of interpretative subtlety, it is unsurprising that there is not a great deal to choose between the different versions. In some of the earlier symphonies, Ward seemed to be setting unnecessarily fast tempos, which did not over-tax his players but which sometimes left the music too little time to breathe. There is no suggestion of this here: the Allegro molto finales of Nos. 11 and 12 speed along with a lively spring, but with plenty of air in the rhythms. Other tempos are nicely chosen, such as that of the Swiss song in No. 11, and Ward pays agreeable attention to the niceties of scoring which were absorbing the young Mendelssohn. There is plenty to enjoy here, and in the whole of his set. Roy Goodman’s Hanover Band have a particular brightness and charm, though their set is at full price. It also includes, as does Ward’s and that of the Concerto Cologne, the Thirteenth Symphony, the so-called Sinfoniesatz.

John Warrack, Gramophone [Awards Issue 1997]

MENDELSSOHN: String Symphonies, Vol. 2

MENDELSSOHN: String Symphonies, Vol. 1

Selections recorded May-August, 1993.

Selections recorded May-August, 1993.

With their often turbulent and dark-hued openings, poignant slow movements, elfin Scherzos reminiscent of the music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and tense, thrilling last movements of perpetual motion, Mendelssohn’s String Quartets are works of considerable emotional range and mastery of form. This first disc of the complete String Quartets ranges from the youthful No. 1, Op. 12 (actually the second of the published quartets) to the great, tragic String Quartet No. 6, Op. 80, Mendelssohn’s last major work, composed after the death of his sister.

Selections recorded May-August, 1993.

Alongside its ongoing and much lauded Haydn and Schubert series, both on-stage and on-record, the Doric String Quartet with this Mendelssohn album is adding a new milestone in its repertoire. Mendelssohn wrote and published these three quartets at very different stages in his life and they therefore outline the complete trajectory of his creative output. The early Op. 12, also called No. 1, was composed in London and includes many musical allusions to Beethoven, dead only a few years before its composition. These subtly contrast with Mendelssohn’s genially flowing energy. While Op. 44 No. 3, which incorporates many deft variations, developments, and combinations, follows an extended honeymoon tour and Mendelssohn’s twenty-ninth birthday, Op. 80 emerged from a bout of helpless depression after the sudden death of Mendelssohn’s older sister and confidante, Fanny. Mendelssohn described this quartet as a Requiem, and the nervous agitation often found in his music here bursts forth with full force. Resignation, agitation, and nostalgia shape the work, the almost shocking finality of which may be said to prefigure Mendelssohn’s own death only six months later.

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REVIEW:

Op. 44/3 is the longest of the quartets, and the outer movements can sometimes come across as prolix. The Doric’s performance steers clear of this trap – again through the controlled variety and technical ease of their music-making – as well as tripping the light fantastic in the scherzo, and laying bare the emotional ambiguity of the Adagio. I look forward to Volume 2.

– BBC Music Magazine

Selections recorded July 14 and August 12, 1989.

Includes song(s) without words by Felix Mendelssohn. Soloists: Axel Strauss, Cord Garben.

It's good to have Rena Kyriakou's lovingly cultivated Mendelssohn Songs Without Words available again through Arkivmusic.com's on-demand reprint program, despite Vox's dry 1962 sonics and occasional fuzzy residue on high notes that I remember from my old LP pressings--is that a master tape defect? Kyriakou favors leisurely tempos and spins legato lines with subtle and attractive shadings that make even old standbys like the Spring Song and the Hunting Song emerge freshly minted to jaded ears. In numbers such as Hope, the Fleecy Cloud, Spinning Song, and the Evening Star, hear the striking timbral differentiation between the main melodies and the perfectly controlled, softly whirling accompaniments, or notice the sustained breadth she brings to the Duetto and the Elegy.

A thoughtfully integrated yet scintillating-when-appropriate (the final variations) rendition of the Variations sérieuses proves more than mere filler, although more dynamically characterized and colorful interpretations can be had, past (Horowitz, Cortot) and present (Perahia, Thibaudet). I hope the balance of Kyriakou's Vox Mendelssohn cycle will appear in due course.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

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