Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos.1 & 4

Sir John Eliot Gardiner is one of the greatest musical leaders of our day. His Mendelssohn cycle on LSO Live has won multiple awards, and the series showcases his enlightened interpretation and his period performance expertise, even having the musicians stand to play. On the period performance practices of the concerts from which these recordings are taken, Gardiner notes: it gives a different type of dynamism and energy it means that the fiddles are freer in the way that they attack the extremely virtuosic lines and it gives a tremendous sense of occasion to the music making. Mendelssohns First Symphony is presented here with both the original and revised versions of the third movement. It is paired with the Fourth Symphony, which was inspired by the atmosphere of Italy, and is among the most loved of Mendelssohns works. The composer himself called it the jolliest piece Ive written so far. Reviews of this concert were extraordinary. The performance of Mendelssohns Italian Symphony No. 4 was like a joyous high-speed rail journey around the country, taking in sun-soaked landscapes, an upbeat pilgrims march, and a scalding saltarello that truly felt like a dance to the death. (The Financial Times)