Mendelssohn: String Symponies Nos. 1-4 & 9

Artist: Thomas Fey
Total time: 72:07
Label: Haenssler Classic
SPAR: DDD
Availability: In stock
Item #: 5191699

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Review

German conductor Thomas Fey and his Heidelberger Sinfoniker have made a name for themselves with historically oriented performances of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, often featuring very quick tempi and sharp articulation along with period brasses. They're startling and bracing performances, and, when applied to Mendelssohn, the effect is even more unusual. For many listeners it will be sharply at odds with what they're expecting to hear. Is this because Fey has finally gone too far, or simply because Mendelssohn's music has been encrusted from the start with Victorian sentimentalism and was especially ripe for reinterpretation? Fey makes a good case for the latter. His earlier Mendelssohn discs programmed early string symphonies along with one of the composer's five mature symphonies, but this one is entirely devoted to the string symphonies, composed when Mendelssohn was between 11 and 13 years old. Instead of a fragile hothouse prodigy, Mendelssohn here appears as an ambitious young genius with Beethoven on his mind. Fey digs into the contrapuntal writing, totally divesting it of any scholastic qualities, and he imbues the minor-key pieces with a weighty air of drama. He makes some questionable choices (as he usually does); the outer movements of the String Symphony No. 2 in D major (tracks 4-6) have a nervous quality, and in his attempt to delineate the newly expanded dimensions in the concluding String Symphony No. 9 in C major, he offers not one of his characteristic quick tempos but a ponderously slow one in the Allegro section of the opening movement. Along the way, however, are numerous passages in which the young Mendelssohn seems almost palpably to be growing into his adult musical languages. Fey is a conductor capable of rethinking a composer's style from the ground up, and producing results that make sense. He has generally done so here. The results, in works often treated as something to play while the audience gets settled in their seats, are not even remotely dull, but listeners should sample here to make sure they know what they're getting into. ~ James Manheim, All Music Guide

Read About This Recording

Continuing the Mendelssohn bicentenary, Thomas Fey and the Heidelberg Symphony offer the delightful and robust String Symphonies. Lost for many years, they were rediscovered in the State Library of East Berlin in 1950. By the mid 20th century, Mendelssohn had become somewhat old fashioned in many critics' estimation — as Queen Victoria's favorite composer, the idea of being stuffy was not lost on anyone and may have come with the territory. His renewed adulation and reappraisal came after World War II, with the 12 string symphonies leading the way — ample proof once again of the inventive genius of Mendelssohn.

The String Symphonies were composed when Felix was between 11 and 13 years old and were probably a trial run for his first full-scale symphony, written when he was 15. As a child prodigy, Mendelssohn rivaled Mozart and these small gems are a highlight of his teenage years. The symphonies, short and compact, have a baroque quality — full of imitation, canon and fugue — as well as a nod toward Haydn, with playful development and dainty orchestration. They are a fertile field of imagination and innate intelligence. The outer movements are energetic and fast paced, while the slower movements are poignant and sensitive. Self confident and assured, young Master Mendelssohn attacks the genre with no pretense. Overall, they are youthful, bright and full of sparkle and sunshine.

Thomas Fey founded the Heidelberg Symphony in 1993 with a focus first on Baroque music and then the Viennese Classical Period. These Mendelssohn works fit the mold perfectly and are played expertly, making for a definitive performance. The orchestra displays attention to historical performance practice, with no more than 15 players at any one time. The works, String Symphonies 1-4 and 9, are well played and as we celebrate the music of Felix Mendelssohn, they take a rightful place in the repertoire. Absorbing and satisfying, they are highly recommended.

—Terrence London

Quotes

"Fey is a conductor capable of rethinking a composer's style from the ground up, and producing results that make sense. The results, in works often treated as something to play while the audience gets settled in their seats, are not ever remotely dull." —All Music Guide

String Symphonies: No. 1 in C Major; No. 2 in D Major; No. 3 in E Minor; No. 4 in C Minor; No. 9 in C Major.

Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Fey, Conductor.

Tracklisting

Mendelssohn: String Symponies Nos. 1-4 & 9
	1.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 1 in C major by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 4:36
	2.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 1 in C major by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 4:16
	3.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 1 in C major by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 2:46
	4.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 2 in D major by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 3:54
	5.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 2 in D major by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 4:51
	6.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 2 in D major by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 2:06
	7.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 3 in E minor by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 3:39
	8.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 3 in E minor by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 3:11
	9.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 3 in E minor by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 2:17
	10.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 4 in C minor by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 3:32
	11.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 4 in C minor by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 3:50
	12.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 4 in C minor by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 2:30
	13.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 9 in C major ("Swiss") by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 11:03
	14.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 9 in C major ("Swiss") by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 7:33
	15.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 9 in C major ("Swiss") by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 3:11
	16.	Sinfonia (String Symphony) for string orchestra No. 9 in C major ("Swiss") by Mendelssohn, Felix [1] Orchestra: Heidelberger Sinfoniker Conductor: Thomas Fey Length: 8:52