LSO Live presents Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s award-winning Mendelssohn series together in its entirety for the first time. Captured over three seasons during critically-acclaimed concerts in the Barbican Hall, this box set offers listeners the definitive account of Gardiner’s unique take on Mendelssohn with the London Symphony Orchestra: a blend between the conductor’s wide-ranging expertise and the Orchestra’s signature sound.
This box set includes celebrated interpretations of the complete Mendelssohn symphonies, as well as three of the composer’s most popular overtures and Gardiner’s landmark version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, all in ultra high-definition stereo and multi-channel audio across four Hybrid SACDs and one Pure Audio Blu-ray.
Reflecting on this exploration of the great German composer with the LSO, Gardiner said: ‘My admiration for Mendelssohn has gone up enormously as a result of this project... It’s so rewarding working with this group of players; they’re willing to go to the last nth degree, in terms of phrasing and articulation, and that’s a joy.’
Composer Felix Mendelssohn
Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Soloists Lucy Crowe, Michael Spyres, Jurgita Adamonyte
Performers London Symphony Orchestra, Monteverdi Choir, Alexander Knox, Ceri-lyn Cissone, Frankie Wakefield
Release date: 21 September 2018
LSO0826 | 822231182627
Producer: Nicholas Parker
Engineering: Classic Sound Ltd
Recorded live at the Barbican Hall, London
1 - 5: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 11
I. Allegro di molto
II. Andante
III. Scherzo. Sempre pianissimo e leggiero (1829 London Version)
III. Menuetto. Allegro molto (1824 Original Version)
IV. Allegro con fuoco
6 - 20: Symphony No. 2, Op. 52 "Lobegesang"
I. Sinfonia a) Maestoso con moto
I. Sinfonia b) Allegretto un poco agitato
I. Sinfonia c) Adagio religioso
II. a) Allegro moderato maestoso "Alles, was Odem hat, lobe den Herrn"
II. b) Molto più moderato ma con fuoco "Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele"
III. a) Recitativo "Saget es, die ihr erlöst seid durch den Herrn"
III. b) Allegro moderato "Er zählet unsre Tränen"
IV. Chor. A tempo moderato "Sagt es, die ihr erlöst seid"
V. Andante "Ich harrete des Herrn"
VI. Allegro un poco agitato "Stricke des Todes hatten uns umfangen"
VII. Allegro maestoso e molto vivace "Die Nacht ist vergangen"
VIII. a) Choral. Andante con moto "Nun danket alle Gott"
VIII. b) Un poco più animato "Lob, Ehr und Preis sei Gott"
IX. Andante sostenuto assai "Drum sing' ich mit meinem Liede ewig dein Lob"
X. Schlusschor. Allegro non troppo "Ihr Völker! bringet her dem Herrn"
21: Overture Ruy Blas, Op. 95
22 - 25: Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56 "Scottish"
I. Andante con moto - Allegro un poco agitato
II. Vivace non troppo
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro vivacissimo - Allegro maestoso assai
26 - 29: Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90 "Italian"
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante con moto
III. Menuetto. Con moto moderato
IV. Finale (Saltarello). Presto
30: Overture Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 27
31 - 34: Symphony No. 5, Op. 107 "The Reformation"
I. Andante - Allegro con fuoco
II. Allegro vivace
III. Andante
IV. Choral "Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott" (Andante con moto - Allegro vivace - Allegro maestoso)
35: The Hebrides, Op. 26 "Fingal's Cave"
36: Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Op. 21
37 - 47: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Incidental Music, Op. 61
"Ay Me! For Aught That I Could Ever Read"
No. 1, Scherzo
No. 2, L'istesso tempo
No. 2a, Allegro vivace
No. 3, Lied mit Chor
No. 4, Andante
No. 5, Allegro appassionato
No. 7, Nocturne. Con moto tranquillo
No. 8, Andante
No. 9, Hochzeitmarsch "Wedding March" - No. 12, Allegro vivace come primo
Finale. Allegro di molto