BaL 1.06.19 - Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 4 "Italian"

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

09.30
Building a Library: Oliver Condy listens to and compares recordings of Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony
Mendelssohn sketched his Symphony No. 4 in A major, commonly known as the "Italian", on his tour of Europe from 1829 to 1831. From Rome he wrote to his sister Fanny: "The Italian symphony is making great progress. It will be the jolliest piece I have ever done, especially the last movement. I have not found anything for the slow movement yet, and I think that I will save that for Naples." The symphony was finished in 1833, but despite its success, Mendelssohn remained dissatisfied with it. It was not published until 1851; which is why it is numbered as his "Symphony No. 4", even though it was in fact the third he composed.

Available recordings:-

Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht
L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy *
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Marc Andreae
Hallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Eduard van Beinum
Prague Philharmona, Jirí Belohlávek
Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, David Bernard *
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
San Francisco Symphony, Herbert Blomstedt
Filarmonica Teatro La Fenice, Ezio Bosso *
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Anthony Bramall *
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Dirk Brosse *
Orchestra of the 18th Century, Frans Brüggen
Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Busch
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Semyon Bychkov
Robert Schumann Philharmonic Chemnitz, Oleg Caetani
NBC Symphony Orchestra, Guido Cantelli
Philharmonia Orchestra, Guido Cantelli
Marlboro Festival Orchestra, Pablo Casals
Berliner Philharmoniker, Sergiu Celibidache
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly *
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Sergiu Comissiona
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis
Wiener Philharmoniker, Christoph von Dohnanyi
Heidelberger Sinfoniker, Thomas Fey
Hungarian State Orchestra, Iván Fischer *
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Claus Peter Flor
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner (SACD)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir John Eliot Gardiner *
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner (SACD)
Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Vladimir Golschmann
Hanover Band, Roy Goodman
English Chamber Orchestra, Leopold Hager
Concertgebouworkest, Bernard Haitink
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernard Haitink *
Chamber Orchestra Of Europe, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra, Volker Hartung
Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado
Musikkollegium Winterthur, Heinz Holliger (SACD)
Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan
Hallé Orchestra, Sir Hamilton Harty
Capella Istropolitana, David Heer
National Radio Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein *
Anima Eterna, Jos van Immerseel
Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Wiener Symphoniker, Otto Klemperer
London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips *
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Sebastian Lang-Lessing *
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Jaime Laredo
Berliner Philharmoniker, James Levine
Crimea Summer Festival Orchestra, Arkady Leytush *
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton (SACD)
London Philharmonic, James Lockhart
Orchestra of St John's Smith Square, John Lubbock
Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, Peter Maag
Berliner Philharmoniker, Lorin Maazel
Capella Savaria, Nicholas McGegan
Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment, Sir Charles Mackerras
Kammerakademie Potsdam, Antonello Manacorda
NDR Radiophilharmonie, Andrew Manze (SACD)
Georgian Festival Orchestra, Jahni Mardjani *
French National Radio Orchestra, Igor Markevitch
Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner (DVD)
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur (DVD)
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux
Standard Symphony Orchestra (San Francisco), Pierre Monteux
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Hans Müller-Kray *
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch (DVD)
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti
Hungarian State Orchestra, Gyula Nemeth *
Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
London Classical Players, Sir Roger Norrington *
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Roger Norrington
Tonkünstler-Orchester, Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Israel Chamber Orchestra, Roberto Paternostro
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Antonio Pedrotti
London Festival Orchestra, Ross Pople *
Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserlautern, Christoph Poppen
London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
Wurttembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Ola Rudner
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Rico Saccani *
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch
London Symphony Orchestra, Alfred Scholz
Ireland National Symphony Orchestra, Reinhard Seifried
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Jose Serebrier
Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Stanisław Skrowaczewski
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti (DVD)
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Georg Solti
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Ignat Solzhenitsyn *
Bulgarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vassil Stefanov
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg *
National Philharmonic Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski *
Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell
Berliner Philharmoniker, Klaus Tennstedt
Münchner Philharmoniker, Christian Thielemann *
NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Gilbert Varga *
Philharmonia Orchestra, Tamás Vásáry
London Chamber Orchestra, Christopher Warren-Gree
Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Jan Willem de Vriend (SACD)
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Bruno Weil
Philharmonia Orchestra, Walter Weller
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Franz Welser-Most *
Irish Chamber Orchestra, Jörg Widmann
London Symphony Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth *
China Philharmonic Orchestra, Jinru Zhang *
China Philharmonic Orchestra, Huang Yi *
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, David Zinman

* = download only

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Pedantic point here: apparently he's going to listen to the recordings on air. It should be a very long BaL. No time for AMcG to interrupt this week.

[jayne lee wilson]

My adoration of Mendelssohn knows few bounds...so....

All down to the calibre of the reviewer - or surveyor - as usual... good choice of work, but shame it wasn't a less beaten path, No.1 say, or - shock horror - a look at complete cycles, of which there have been quite a few new HIPPS or chamber orchestral newcomers in the last decade or so...

For No.4 itself, thinking no more than twice...
COE/Nézet-Séguin (DG)....
Musikkollegium Winterthur/Holliger (of the rarely heard later 1833/34 version, marvellously played and recorded (MDG) in any case...)

LSO/Gardiner fine too, just a shade below these, largely on account of sonic/tonal/orchestral beauties in the above. Barbican better handled in hi-res for the LSO/JEG, but it only goes so far...
Want a safer option? CBSO/Gardner (Chandos, rec. Birmingham Town Hall)...

[Barbirollians]

I did not hear the dread words “ joins me “ this morning .

[vinteuil]

.

... also recommended : Emmanuel Krivine with la Chambre Philharmonique :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000H0MH40

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000SKO8AU

.

[jayne lee wilson]

.

... also recommended : Emmanuel Krivine with la Chambre Philharmonique :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000H0MH40

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000SKO8AU

.

WOW, YES!
I'd forgotten that one (should have thought thrice .....)... the c/w is a stunning, outstanding, exultant 5th, which was a shortlisted BaL choice when Heidelberger/Fey was the top one. Listening closely later, I really preferred the Krivine...

Can't recall the Reformation BaL reviewer but it was done very well........
.....just found it, it was Andrew Mellor.

[Goon525]

That’ll upset a few here! (Though not me.)

[cloughie]

I guess the nothing much before 1990 will be applied, so Solti IPO or CSO, The older LSO Abbado, Cantelli, Krips, Beecham, Weller or Munch will get a look in. I must check out the Edward Gardner sometime!

[jayne lee wilson]

I guess the nothing much before 1990 will be applied, so Solti IPO or CSO, The older LSO Abbado, Cantelli, Krips, Beecham, Weller or Munch will get a look in. I must check out the Edward Gardner sometime!

Oh, go on, be a devil and get this - I can't imagine anyone being disappointed, and you're getting a fascinatingly, subtly different edition as well - many audibly different details. Holliger goes into some detail in a booklet-note interview about this.
Among many felicities, you have a softer, sweeter minuet than usual, but the finale has all the controlled fieriness as you'd wish - though still with a wider expressive and coloristic range - more light and shade.
Remember the Musikkollegium is a smallish, modern-instrument Symphony Orchestra (around COE-size here), and adventurous musical genius Holliger is the most insightful of early-Romantic conductors; you could just-about say it's a HIPPs approach, but absolutely not overt or "doctrinaire" (!) in any way...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mendelssohn-Symphonies-No/dp/B005DZIN2O/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1558801539&sr=8-1

Sound - to die for, as you'd expect from the label...(who rarely allow their recordings to be streamed, sorry...)

[LeMartinPecheur]

I bought the 'Philharmonia Promenade Orch' - who he?/ Wallberg HMV Concert Classics LP on about Day 3 as record collector c.1972 (widely recommended in its day - does anyone else recall it with affection?), and knew I'd added the Abbado complete symphs box on CD. Not a work where I really hope to be riveted by new insights from other performances, so I'm rather aghast at what else the shelves have yielded: Bern SO/ Maag, Cleveland/ Szell(*), VPO/ Gardiner and SRO/ Ansermet. All ex-charity-shop CDs except the last, an LP that was probably my late father's. [Plus Hanover Band/ Goodman, as per MickyD's #18 below.]

So I don't think I'll be worrying the bank manager next Saturday but you never know...

(*)I distinctly recall being conned into wasting maybe as much as a quid on this disc, CBS Essential Classics The front cover says it contains Symphs 3 & 4 + Hebrides Ov - Cleveland Orch/ Szell. Now I rather fancied hearing the Scottish from Szell, but it turned out to be an Andrew Davis version - modified rapture!

[visualnickmos]

I bought the 'Philharmonia Promenade Orch' - who he?/ Wallberg HMV Concert Classics LP on about Day 3 as record collector c.1972 (widely recommended in its day - does anyone else recall it with affection?), and knew I'd added the Abbado complete symphs box on CD. Not a work where I really hope to be riveted by new insights from other performances, so I'm rather aghast at what else the shelves have yielded: Bern SO/ Maag, Cleveland/ Szell(*), VPO/ Gardiner and SRO/ Ansermet. All ex-charity-shop CDs except the last, an LP that was probably my late father's.

So I don't think I'll be worrying the bank manager next Saturday but you never know...

(*)I distinctly recall being conned into wasting maybe as much as a quid on this disc, CBS Essential Classics The front cover says it contains Symphs 3 & 4 + Hebrides Ov - Cleveland Orch/ Szell. Now I rather fancied hearing the Scottish from Szell, but it turned out to be an Andrew Davis version - modified rapture!

I have the same CD! But Andrew Davis is fine, in this - as he is many of his recordings. Szell's Hebrides Overture is, sadly far to mechanical and therefore pretty unpleasant.

Abbado - I have that set too! It's cracking; verve, energy, control, and the excellent, on top-form LSO; what's not to like?

[LeMartinPecheur]

I have the same CD! But Andrew Davis is fine, in this - as he is many of his recordings.

Yeah, don't take my 'rage over a lost penny' too seriously!

[Bryn]

Oh, go on, be a devil and get this - I can't imagine anyone being disappointed, and you're getting a fascinatingly, subtly different edition as well - many audibly different details. Holliger goes into some detail in a booklet-note interview about this.
Among many felicities, you have a softer, sweeter minuet than usual, but the finale has all the controlled fieriness as you'd wish - though still with a wider expressive and coloristic range - more light and shade.
Remember the Musikkollegium is a smallish, modern-instrument Symphony Orchestra (around COE-size here), and adventurous musical genius Holliger is the most insightful of early-Romantic conductors; you could just-about say it's a HIPPs approach, but absolutely not overt or "doctrinaire" (!) in any way...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mendelssohn-Symphonies-No/dp/B005DZIN2O/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1558801539&sr=8-1

Sound - to die for, as you'd expect from the label...(who rarely allow their recordings to be streamed, sorry...)

I have tried ordering a low cost "Used: Very Good" copy but fear it may not arrive as per the listing. The reviews are all for a Harnoncourt recording.

[visualnickmos]

Yeah, don't take my 'rage over a lost penny' too seriously!

I don't - apologies if that was the impression I gave!

[jayne lee wilson]

I have tried ordering a low cost "Used: Very Good" copy but fear it may not arrive as per the listing. The reviews are all for a Harnoncourt recording.

In my own experience, the listings are right, the reviews (which I scarcely ever bother to look at anymore anyway) wrongly attached....if I did notice the discrepancy it wouldn't stop me ordering.

I can rarely recall the wrong CD arriving (apart from a Tennstedt Mahler 5 when the European rather than the Toshiba one came), in many years of Amazon orders from all over....maybe it is just luck, I don't know.