Mendelssohn: The 5 Symphonies

Felix Mendelssohn’s 5 symphonies demonstrate the composer’s extraordinary melodic gift, but also his adventurous spirit. While the First symphony – composed when he was only 15 years old – still reveals the influences of Viennese Classicism, he realized the sound of national landscapes with ground-breaking orchestral effects and harmonies in his Third (Scottish) and Fourth (Italian). The Second (Lobgesang) and Fifth, on the contrary, were inspired by Mendelssohn’s Christian faith, and the former uses choral forces and vocal soloists, stretching the boundaries of symphonic form even further than Beethoven had dared in his “Choral” Ninth. The 5 symphonies are presented chronologically, performed by the NDR Radiophilharmonie and conductor Andrew Manze, who won a Jahrespreis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2017 for their recording of the First and Third symphony.