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Mendelssohn – Symphonies 3 and 5

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Catalogue numberBIS-1604 SACD
Release date2009-12-29
Discs1
Orig. sample rate44100Hz
Total time70:15

BBC Music Magazine: Double 5 stars; Music Web International: Recording of the Month.

Celebrating the 200th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn's birth in 1809, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and their music director Andrew Litton have recorded a three-disc survey of the composer's symphonies. This final disc in the series opens with the 'Scottish' Symphony (No.3), conceived during the composer's visit to what was at the time regarded as the Romantic retreat par excellence, celebrated in literature as the retreat of solitary heroes amid the rugged Highland scenery. From Edinburgh Mendelssohn wrote to his parents: 'At dusk we went today to the palace where Mary Stuart lived and loved. Everything there lies rotten and in ruins; the clear daylight shines right in. I think that today I found the beginning of my Scottish Symphony.' It would take him many years to complete what was begun that day in 1829, however, for the symphony was not ready until 1842 - actually more than 12 years after the 'Reformation' Symphony, even though this carries a higher opus number. The reason for this confusing state of affairs is that Mendelssohn was less than happy with the work he wrote for the 1830 celebrations of the Lutheran Reformation, and therefore refused to let it be published in his lifetime. Both works contain references to their stated subjects - the Scottish-sounding 'folk tune' in the finale of the Third Symphony, the use of Luther's chorale 'Ein' feste Burg' in that of the Fifth - but they also share the musical lightness of touch and the inventiveness that have made Mendelssohn a favourite with concert audiences for close to two centuries. These qualities are mirrored in the performances of Litton and the Bergen PO, whose recording of Symphony No.2, 'Lobgesang', earlier this year was described in a review in Financial Times as 'suitably glowing', with its emphasis 'on mercurial invention and spontaneity'.
 
  • STUDIO QUALITY
    File formats included in STUDIO QUALITY
    • FLAC 24-bit Stereo
    • FLAC 24-bit Surround 5.0
    • FLAC 16-bit Stereo
    • MP3 Stereo
  • CD QUALITY | MP3
    File formats included in CD QUALITY | MP3
    • FLAC 16-bit Stereo
    • MP3 Stereo
$ 14.55
 
Extra material for download
 
 
  Composer: Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix
  Symphony No.3 in A minor, Op.56, ‘Scottish’ 39:48
01 I. Andante con moto – Allegro un poco agitato – Assai
animato –
15:58 $ 3.35 USD
02 II. Vivace non troppo – 04:11 $ 0.88 USD
03 III. Adagio – 09:48 $ 2.06 USD
04 IV. Allegro vivacissimo – Allegro maestoso assai 09:51 $ 2.07 USD
 
  Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.107, ‘Reformation’ 29:30
05 I. Andante – Allegro con fuoco 11:32 $ 2.42 USD
06 II. Allegro vivace 05:44 $ 1.20 USD
07 III. Andante 03:33 $ 0.75 USD
08 IV. Choral „Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott!“ 08:41 $ 1.82 USD
 
  Album total 70:15
OrchestraBergen Philharmonic Orchestra
ConductorLitton, Andrew
ComposerMendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix

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