Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4

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

Selections recorded May-August, 1993.

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

MENDELSSOHN: 7 Characteristic Pieces, Op. 7 / Fantasia, Op.

MENDELSSOHN: Sonata in B-Flat Major / Fantasies, Op. 16

As I remarked last November when Vol. 1 of this cycle appeared, the multiplicity of notes in Mendelssohn’s piano music sometimes lays him open to the charge of ‘note-spinning’. So what higher praise for Frith than to say that thanks to his fluency, tact and fancy, not a single work in this second volume seems to outstay its welcome.

The unchallengeable masterpiece, of course, is the Variations serieuses, so enthusiastically taken up by Clara Schumann, and still a repertory work today. Frith characterizes each variation with telling contrasts of tempo and touch without sacrificing the continuity and unity of the whole. Equally importantly, never for a moment does he allow us to forget the serieuses of the title. I was no less impressed by his sensitively varied palette in the early E major Sonata (unmistakable homage to Beethoven’s Op. 101) so often helped by subtle pedalling. But surely the recitative of the Adagio at times needs just a little more intensity and underlying urgency.

Of the miniatures the six Kinderstucke (“Christmas Pieces” – written for the children of a friend) emerge with an unforced charm. As music they lack the romance of Schumann’s ventures into a child’s world, just as the Three Studies do of Chopin’s magical revelations in this sphere. However, Frith’s fingers never let him down. In the first B flat Study he even seems to acquire a third hand to sustain its middle melody. For sheer seductive grace, the independent Gondellied haunts my memory most of all, here with its melody so gracefully floated over a gently gliding bass. With pleasantly natural sound in its favour, too, this disc could surely sell at more than its modest price.'

-- Joan Chissell, Gramophone [5/1996]

}Gramophone (2/97, pp. 53-4) "...I was as impressed by [Frith and Tinney's] attunement of phrasing in lyrical contexts as by their synchronization in all the brilliant semiquaver passagework....a not-to-be-missed opportunity to explore the precocious young Mendelssohn..."{

Classical Music

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Includes work(s) by Felix Mendelssohn.

MENDELSSOHN: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Capriccio Brilla

MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 4, "Italian" / A Midsummer Night's