Mendelssohn: String Symphony No. 4 in C minor

The Heidelberger Sinfoniker and Thomas Fey are already well-known from their numerous critically acclaimed Haydn recordings. Here they continue their equally welcome recordings of the complete “Symphonic” works of Mendelssohn. Highly recommended.

Mendelssohn’s symphonies for strings, the “youthful symphonies”, are only rarely performed. It is hard to believe that the composer wrote these works between the ages of 12 and 14. Fiedler has studied the autographs in detail and corrected individual textual errors in the printed editions, as well as textual inconsistencies in the available editions.

The thirteen string symphonies that Mendelssohn wrote between 1821and 1823 are not only evidence of his exceptionally rapid development, they are also examples of wonderful, virtuoso music that reveals the influence of CPE Bach, JS Bach and Handel.

This new complete recording of these works on the ORFEO label features the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. Founded more than 50 years ago, the SCO has gradually built up a repertory that extends from the Baroque to the present day, thereby guaranteeing a flexible and keenly differentiated kind of playing, due not least to the ensemble's principal conductor, Michael Hofstetter, who is likewise at home in a wide variety of styles.The verve of the first symphony's opening Allegro is maintained throughout all the fast movements, while the slow movements are characterised by their gently flowing cantabile lines, which extend to the quotations of folksongs found in the two 'Swiss' symphonies.The last two symphonies, finally, are notable for their contrapuntal procedures and polyphonic accomplishment. Here the composer and his interpreters have found an appropriately playful approach to complex fugal subjects and developments. In this way this set of youthful works is brought to a suitably masterly conclusion, providing a further powerful addition to the 2009 celebrations marking the Mendelssohn bicentenary.