Mendelssohn was a child prodigy comparable in talent to Mozart. In fact, some of the works he composed in his teens were thought of as superior to Mozart's when he was at a similar age.
We also have Mendelssohn to thank for reviving the world's interest in the works of Bach. In 1829, Mendelssohn conducted a performance of Bach's St. Matthew's Passion, at a time when Bach's music had become nearly completely forgotten. The performance was so powerful and so well-regarded that it kicked off what we now think of as the "19th century Bach revival."
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Herbert Von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Five Symphonies
Deutsche Grammophon, 1973
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The disc I have is a three-CD collection of all five of Mendelssohn's symphonies, and with any luck, I'll have a chance to blog about all of them. I've posted a link to this CD below, along with another, similar Deutsche Grammophon collection of Mendelssohn's symphonies with several additional works.
A few quick notes:
1) The First Symphony clocks in at just 30 minutes; yet another classical work that you can get to know without making a major time commitment.
2) In the 2nd movement you can really see why people think Mendelssohn has a profound gift for composing music for strings.
3) Have you ever heard a military waltz? Is there such a thing? That's what the 3rd movement sounds like to me. Also, listen for the two distinct parts of the 3rd movement: The martial-waltz at the beginning of the movement fades (at about the 2:25 mark) into beautiful woodwind melodies layered over rising arpeggios by the strings. Then the movement returns to the original theme at 5:40 or so.
4) In the 4th movement, listen in at around the 3:20 mark for a fugue-like section that is reminiscent of Bach. And finally, what do you think of the Beethoven-style overwrought ending?
One final note: One work by Mendelssohn that everybody should consider owning is his Octet in E-flat Major for Strings. It is on the second CD collection below. I don't own it (yet), but I would recommend anyone wanting to own what is widely considered one of Mendelssohn's greatest works. Amazingly, he composed it at age 16!
We also have Mendelssohn to thank for reviving the world's interest in the works of Bach. In 1829, Mendelssohn conducted a performance of Bach's St. Matthew's Passion, at a time when Bach's music had become nearly completely forgotten. The performance was so powerful and so well-regarded that it kicked off what we now think of as the "19th century Bach revival."
**********************
Herbert Von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Five Symphonies
Deutsche Grammophon, 1973
**********************
The disc I have is a three-CD collection of all five of Mendelssohn's symphonies, and with any luck, I'll have a chance to blog about all of them. I've posted a link to this CD below, along with another, similar Deutsche Grammophon collection of Mendelssohn's symphonies with several additional works.
A few quick notes:
1) The First Symphony clocks in at just 30 minutes; yet another classical work that you can get to know without making a major time commitment.
2) In the 2nd movement you can really see why people think Mendelssohn has a profound gift for composing music for strings.
3) Have you ever heard a military waltz? Is there such a thing? That's what the 3rd movement sounds like to me. Also, listen for the two distinct parts of the 3rd movement: The martial-waltz at the beginning of the movement fades (at about the 2:25 mark) into beautiful woodwind melodies layered over rising arpeggios by the strings. Then the movement returns to the original theme at 5:40 or so.
4) In the 4th movement, listen in at around the 3:20 mark for a fugue-like section that is reminiscent of Bach. And finally, what do you think of the Beethoven-style overwrought ending?
One final note: One work by Mendelssohn that everybody should consider owning is his Octet in E-flat Major for Strings. It is on the second CD collection below. I don't own it (yet), but I would recommend anyone wanting to own what is widely considered one of Mendelssohn's greatest works. Amazingly, he composed it at age 16!
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