Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
Mendelssohn in Birmingham – Volume 1
Overture, The Hebrides [9:51]
Symphony No. 5 Reformation [27:40]
Symphony No. 4 Italian [28:12]
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Edward Gardner
rec. Town Hall, Birmingham, 20-21 October 2013
CHANDOS CHSA5132 SACD [66:04]
What a good idea it was for Chandos to have a series of discs showcasing
Mendelssohn’s relationship with the city of Birmingham, and an even
better idea to have it played by that city’s modern-day orchestra.
True, the works on this disc don’t have as close a connection with
Birmingham as several others of the composer’s, but there can be
no doubt that Mendelssohn had tremendous affection for that city; it provided
him with some spectacular triumphs when he conducted the Birmingham Festival
in the 1830s and 1840s. Anyway, who really cares about such matters when
the playing is so spectacularly good?
The thing that struck me most about every work on the disc is the tremendous
sense of movement that Gardner gets out of both the players and the score.
That hits you between the eyes with The Hebrides, and not only
in the wonderful flexibility that accompanies the undulating string theme,
which here sounds as controlled as it is mobile. It is also in the other
effects that Mendelssohn uses to surround his theme: the frequent crescendos
and decrescendos have never sounded so present to me as they do here,
and the timpani rolls to evoke the swell of the waves seem to appear and
recede in perfect proportion. The storm, when it comes, is frenzied without
being overcooked, and this proved to be the most satisfying account of
this piece to come my way in a very long time.
The symphonies fare just as well. Again, that sense of movement is there,
but married with an overall architectural vision. The slow introduction
to the Reformation symphony, for example, is pregnant with expectation,
waiting for something exciting to happen, and the conflict of the allegro
delivers this very satisfyingly. The Scherzo is then full of jaunty self-confidence,
almost like a dance, and the string playing of the Andante is
full of beautifully tinged melancholy. It then leads into the Feste
Burg finale with a minimum of fuss, but this then builds into something
of both power and triumph without losing sight of the innate musicality
of the piece, never a piece of propaganda for its own sake. It is a tribute
to Gardner’s vision that he keeps things on the right side of this
line while maintaining a distinct sense of vision that this is where the
climax of the piece will come.
The Italian symphony also bristles with life. The opening movement
gets going with the crack of a starting pistol and the violins seem to
relish every bar of their opening theme. The winds match this enthusiasm
with a prinked, staccato rendition of their fugal development theme, and
when the two come together it is as satisfying as fitting a square peg
into a square hole. The second movement is appropriately con moto
with no hint of lingering or wallowing, and the major-key counter theme
provides sublime contrast, radiantly played by first the winds and then
the strings. The Menuet unfolds with genial expansiveness, and the Saltarello
finale explodes out of the speakers with a quick-fire propulsion that
will take you aback. Gardner whips the orchestra into a frenzy of excitement,
and they match him with playing of precision that is all the more remarkable
because it is so intense. That is also true for the strings when they
introduce the Tarantella theme, and the growing sense of momentum as the
two themes combine is absolutely thrilling, testament to both conductor
and orchestra. The final fortissimo chords, which grow in power as they
progress, provide a thrilling end to the disc.
So it’s three cheers for this disc, and all the more exciting that
this is only Volume 1. It’s a nice bonus that the cover of the disc
is a drawing of Birmingham by Mendelssohn himself, and the essays in the
booklet are up to Chandos’ usual very high standard. What next?
Surely Elijah can’t be too far away, and maybe a few more
symphonies? The sooner the better.
Simon Thompson
Support
us financially by purchasing this disc from |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |