Abbado’s Mendelssohn is as fresh and vivacious as ever. The Italian Symphony positively crackles with energy, and the collaboration with Branagh passes with flying colors.

It’s good to be able to report that Abbado’s Mendelssohn is as fresh and vivacious as ever. His LSO recordings of the symphonies (on DG) were very fine, but this new Berlin account of the Italian Symphony – recorded live at the Berlin Philharmonic’s 1995 New Year’s Eve Concert – positively crackles with energy, especially in the whirlwind finale. The second movement’s procession is beguilingly phrased and Abbado even convinces me that the weak Minuet is worth its place in this otherwise utterly marvellous work. The performance of Mendelssohn’s equally delightful incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream is taken from the same concert, though Kenneth Branagh’s narration was added later (he projects well and the acoustics are well matched, so the result feels perfectly natural). The extracts Branagh uses fit well with Mendelssohn’s music (of which we hear all the important numbers) and concentrate on the central tussle between Titania and Oberon and the latter’s confused conspiracy with Puck to untangle the love lives of the young Athenians. It’s a heroic attempt to capture some of the magic of the play, and Branagh passes with flying colours (though I’m not totally convinced by Puck as a leprechaun). A delightful disc, then, beautifully packaged – though, curiously, without programme notes.

Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 5 (out of 5)

-- Stephen Maddock, BBC Music Magazine

MENDELSSOHN: SCOTTISH & ITALIA

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 24: Mendelssohn: Piano Trio, Op.

*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. ***

Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 2 & Violin Concerto No.

This is a real collector's piece. When I started to play my advance review copy, without any sleeve-notes for enlightenment, and heard the seductive strains of Gershwin's Lullaby (what a captivating little gem) greeting me across the room I thought what a good idea it was to compile a record of attractive shorter pieces designed to overcome the hypothetical man-in-the-street's fear of chamber music. But I soon realized that the record was fulfilling another more important service in gathering together a choice assortment of string quartet rareties conspicuous by their absence from the catalogue. Potential best-seller as it is, even the Gershwin piece wasn't exactly in 'hot' supply before. This Lullaby tied for first place in my affections with Puccini's I crisantemi, a short, early neglected piece he composed "in a night" after the death of Prince Amadeo, Duke of Savoy; with its typically sensuous nostalgia for all things loved and lost, it is no surprise to discover that its two leading themes were reincarnated in the last act of Manon Lescaut. Haydn's Andante and Minuet are of special interest as his last essay in the string quartet medium (eventually published as Op. 103). Though advancing years prevented him from completing the work in four movements, the Minuet is quite astonishingly highly charged and urgent. Mendelssohn's Andante (with variations) and Scherzo, both dating from his last year, were also probably intended as the middle movements of a complete work. Here it is not so much the slow movement as the Scherzo that captivates the ear, chiefly because of Mendelssohn's unerring success with elves and sprites all his life—they certainly abound here. Wolf's late Intermezzo has many moments of startling caprice and charm, but also some working-out patches that sound more laboured than anything from his unloved fellow citizen of Vienna, Brahms. The Juilliard Quartet put as much of their minds and hearts into the recital as if they were tackling late Beethoven. At first I thought the acoustics, or engineering, made their tone sound a bit wiry. But your ear soon tunes in.

– Joan Chissell, Gramophone [1/1975, reviewing these performances on LP]

Robert Mann, violin; Earl Carlyss, violin; Raphael Hillyer, viola; Claus Adam, cello.

The program chosen for this album strongly reflects not only the taste of the Juilliard Quartet but also vividly illustrates how the miniature in music has continued to appeal to composers of varied background throughout the centuries.

MENDELSSOHN String Quartets: No. 1 in E?, op. 12; No. 2 in a, op. 13 • Juilliard Str Qrt • SONY SK 60579 (55:29)

Can a chamber group have a musical identity that endures despite changes in personnel, the way an orchestra can? On the basis of the CD at hand, I'd have to say so. With the retirement of violinist Robert Mann in 1997 after 51 years (!), the Juilliard String Quartet has now, finally, turned over all its original players. Joel Smirnoff, for 11 years the group's second violinist, has moved confidently into Mann's chair, and Ronald Copes joined the quartet to take Smirnoff's old position. But listening to this excellent new disc of two Mendelssohn works, then to the Juilliard's late 70s recording of a Haydn op. 20 quartet (with the current violist and cellist, Samuel Rhodes and Joel Krosnick) and then to Beethoven's op. 18, no. 1, from a decade before (with an earlier bottom half of the quartet), I hear the same characteristic blend of refinement and soulfulness, the evolution of the lineup notwithstanding. Encountering the reconstituted Juilliard in the flesh was a highlight of last year's concert season for me; chamber music fans clearly have a lot to look forward to.

The E?-Major quartet gets a fairly relaxed reading, though the playing is certainly never slack. There's a natural ebb and flow to tempos in the opening movement and, in the second, a wonderful variety of textures is realized. In the central Allegretto of the movement, the Juilliard achieves a Midsummer Nights Dream sort of fleetness. The Andante is indeed espressivo without becoming overwrought. The swirling tarantellalike finale is presented with an understated virtuosity, before a peaceful closing. The A-Minor work is played with a greater level of emotional intensity. Dynamic contrasts are effective—the Juilliard can turn on a dime—and Smirnoff's leadership in the opening Allegro is both fervent and accurate. We hear flawless balances in the Intermezzo, and beautiful shaping of the simple thematic materials. The quartet is, again, wonderfully light on its feet with the quicksilver middle portion of the movement. For the concluding movement, Smirnoff satisfies in his solo passages with assured, beautifully contoured playing, and the ending, in which Mendelssohn quotes from his song Frage, as he does at the very beginning of the work, is quite moving.

Sony's string sound is warm and sweet, without a touch of stridency. The recording, made at the Giandomenico Studios in Collingswood, New Jersey, is close-up and involving, but still breathes. The packaging is attractive, with photos of the musicians in a parklike setting, and informed, well-written notes that point up the influence of Beethoven on these youthful compositions.

Among recent versions of the Mendelssohn quartets, those from Vienna's Artis Quartet, on Accord, have received high marks in Fanfare. I like them, too: The Artis offers direct, energetic performances, taking consistently faster tempos than the American players. The Juilliard may please a bit more in the slow movements. I'd not want to be without either. Listeners on a budget can consider the three discs of Mendelssohn's music for string quartet from Naxos, performances by the Aurora Quartet (four musicians from the San Francisco Symphony) that received a laudatory notice from John Wiser in Fanfare 18:2. Although their readings of ops. 12 and 13 are thoroughly convincing, they don't, for me, rise to the level of either the Artis or the Juilliard, and the sonics are less pleasing.

The Sony disc is heartily recommended. The Juilliard Quartet is back.

-- Andrew Quint, Fanfare [5-6/1999]

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 "Scottish" & Symphony No. 4 "Ita

This series of DVDs features travel scenes accompanied by classical music.

The Places
Our tour of Scotland takes us from Edinburgh, with its castle, Scott monument and Palace of Holyrood, to the highland and then to The Hebrides, recalling the journey undertaken by the young Mendelssohn.

The Music
In 1829 Mendelssohn visited England and, after the summer season, travelled north to Scotland, accompanied by his friend Karl Klingemann. In Edinburgh he visited the Palace of Holyrood, recalling the tragic story of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the murder there of her secretary David Rizzio. Further north he took the steamer to the island of Staffa, where he saw Fingal's Cave and in spite of sea-sickness immediately sketched the opening theme of his Hebrides Overture. It was not until 1842 that his Scottish Symphony was completed, a work inspired by memories of his visit to Scotland.

Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: Dolby Digital / DTS Surround
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 52 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Arnold Mendelssohn's compositional oeuvre essentially encompasses all the major musical genres. He wrote three symphonies, a violin concerto, a cello concerto, numerous chamber pieces, three operas, a variety of sacred and secular cantatas and oratorios, around 170 songs and piano and organ music. This release features the world premier recording of the complete solo piano works of Arnold Mendelssohn. The pianist Elzbieta Sternlicht began her studies at the State Music Academy in Warsaw with Zbigniew Drzewiecki, and continued them in Paris with Vlado Perlemuter and Suzanne Roche. She has given concerts, master courses, workshops and radio broadcast performances throughout western and eastern Europe as well as in North and South America and Asia. She has released several critically-acclaimed albums, including world premiere recordings of the complete solo piano works of Josef Koffler.

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MENDELSSOHN: SYMPHONIES NOS. 3

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Mendelssohn: Piano Trios, Opp. 49 & 66

Paul Mendelssohn, Felix’s younger brother, was a banker by profession but an accomplished amateur cellist, and it is to him that we owe Felix Mendelssohn's three major compositions for cello and piano. This new recording presents Mendelssohn's complete output for cello and piano, and includes the three large scale works, as well as two short pieces, performed by leading virtuosi Marcy Rosen and Lydia Artymiw. Marcy Rosen has established herself as one of the most important and respected artists of our day. Los Angeles Times music critic Herbert Glass has called her "one of the intimate art's abiding treasures." She has performed in recital and with orchestra throughout Canada, England, France, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, and all fifty of the United States. She made her concerto debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of eighteen and has since appeared with such noted orchestras as the Dallas Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony, the Caramoor Festival Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, the Jupiter Symphony and Concordia Chamber Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall, and the Tokyo Symphony at the famed Orchard Hall in Tokyo. Lydia Artymiw has emerged as one of the most compelling and individual pianists of her generation. For over forty years, she has consistently earned rave reviews, firmly establishing herself as a unique artistic personality with rare communicative gifts. Critics have praised her artistry and highly original interpretations, her warmth, intelligence, poetic gifts, thoughtfulness, versatility, and most of all, her distinctive and beautiful sound.

Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 - Mendelssohn: The

Even though German-born composer Felix Mendelssohn began his musical education on the piano, some of his most brilliant compositions were written for strings. Many believe his inclination toward strings was largely due to the fact that he studied Beethoven's quartets during his teenage years in Berlin. Though some of Mendelssohn's string quartets show evidence of this influence, his string quintets have been said to be a clearer representation of "Mendelssohnian" music at its best.
On this album, the L'Archibudelli quartet paints a telling portrait of Mendelssohn's spontaneous temperament, as every instrument reflects the individualistic style Mendelssohn was known for. During the sprightly Quintet for Strings no 1, the violins and violas mingle nonchalantly, playing their parts as if every other note or short phrase was added on a whim.
Despite the free-spirited nature of the music, the members of the L'Archibudelli quintet are remarkably sensitive to changes in the music's timbre, as every player adjusts immediately every time there is an unexpected crescendo or subito piano. Though the Quintet for Strings No. 2 starts off with a little more conviction than the first, it possesses the same quality of melodic and harmonic creativity. With such a keen adaption of the composer's style, listeners may be led to think they are listening to Mendelssohn's exact sentiments instead of just a well-played recording of his music.

Classical Music

MENDELSSOHN: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Frieder Bernius - these names are often mentioned in one and the same breath. Bernius's complete recording of Mendlssohn's sacred choral music with the Kammerchor Stuttgart, which has won many prizes, is a major feat of both interpretation and editing, and has extensively contributed to Mendelssohn's complete oeuvre becoming part of the concert repertoire, a fact which today is taken for granted. On the occasion of his 70th birthday in June, 2017, Frieder Bernius has now produced a recording of the high quality associated with him of Mendelssohn's most well-known secular choral songs under the title of ''Liedern im Freien zu singen''.

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For this new recording of orchestral works by Mendelssohn, the CBSO and its principal guest conductor, Edward Gardner, join the violinist Jennifer Pike, who made a remarkable debut at Carnegie Hall this year. She here performs the Violin Concerto in E minor, the piece that launched her career thirteen years ago when she became the youngest-ever winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award. This recording contains another of Mendelssohn's later works: the Incidental Music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1843), in which he managed to recapture and amplify the unique magic of his early years.

Review:

Pike allies the luminous beauty of her tone to her innate musicality and mercurial technique to produce an exceptionally lyrical interpretation of the evergreen Violin Concerto in E minor.

– Guardian (UK)

Edward Gardner's Mendelssohn in Birmingham series continues with a recording of Overtures. As with the previous volumes, a reduced size CBSO join Gardner in Birmingham Town's Hall, where Mendelssohn himself conducted many of the UK premieres of his own orchestral works. The majority of works in the programme were written as concert overtures, spanning the length of Mendelssohn's career from the early Midsummer Night's Dream composed when he was just 16 though to 'Ruy Blas' written towards the end of his lifetime. Two of these overtures were written as the opening movements of larger works: 'St Paul', his first great Oratorio from 1836, and his overture to 'Athalie', incidental music written for Racine's play. The Trumpet Overture is the earliest work here, written possibly to precede a performance of Handel's Israel in Egypt, and allegedly Mendelssohn's father's favourite piece!

"[A] high-class ensemble with superlative playing in all departments. Flor has an excellent feel for Mendelssohn's music. . . . [H]e understands the paradox that while Mendelssohn's scores should never be made to sound too heavy they often contain more emotional depth and expressive weight than is immediately apparent. . . . Camacho's Wedding is a real rarity, though it shouldn't be, [with] a charmingly open-hearted character and high craftsmanship. . . . Ruy Blas is given an urgently expressive yet beautifully balanced reading, while The Hebrides receives a delicately inflected, most imaginative performance. The recording of this very desirable disc seems to me just about ideal, for it has a very natural, warm quality with plenty of space, clarity and detail." -- Gramophone

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