Wolfgang Sawallisch is without doubt one of the world’s greatest interpreters and champions of Mendelssohn. His cycle of the 5 symphonies was recorded for Philips in 1987, and has been absent from the catalogue for several years.
This Brilliant release marks a welcome return for his sensitive and deeply felt performances.The Amsterdam Sinfonietta’s cycle of the string symphonies is highly rated, and was released initially on BIS.
Mendelssohn’s 5 symphonies include two of the most popular works in the repertoire, the 3rd ‘Scottish’ and the 4th ‘Italian’. ?? The ‘Scottish’ owes its creation to a lengthy stay in theUK the composer made in the late 1820s, which inspired Mendelssohn to compose a vivid programmatic work.
The ‘Italian’ depicts an altogether warmer and sunnier part of the world, and is the result of Mendelssohn’s extended tour of the country in the 1830s.
The Amsterdam Sinfonietta’s cycle of the string symphonies is highly rated, and was released initially on BIS.
‘All the performances are superb, and they are extremely well recorded……the Amsterdam Sinfonietta plays magnificently throughout’ (Classics Today)
‘So devoted a reading [of the Second Symphony] will afford much comfort and joy to all believing Mendelssohnians, and may well make converts among others’ (The Musical Times)
December 2009
“This is a bracing yet sensitive performance...Sawallisch yields to no-one in the infectious bounce of the Scherzo, or the flowing, unaffected eloquence of the Adagio [of the Scottish]”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
