Mendelssohn Favorites Offer Precision, Grace and Grit By THE NEW YORK TIMES

January 30, 2009
Mendelssohn Favorites Offer Precision, Grace and Grit By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Composer anniversaries aren't what they used to be. In flusher times for the recording industry, you might have expected a freshet if not a flood of releases to wash over the Mendelssohn bicentennial, which becomes official on Tuesday.

There are, to be sure, concerts here and about. The German organ virtuoso Felix Hell will perform Mendelssohn's complete works for the instrument in three programs on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at the Church of the Transfiguration. Kurt Masur will conduct the New York Philharmonic in a program of Mendelssohn, including the Violin Concerto in E minor with Anne-Sophie Mutter as soloist, from Wednesday through next Saturday at Avery Fisher Hall. And smaller-scale ventures abound. (A concert of Mendelssohn rarities at the Museum of Jewish Heritage is reviewed on Page 5.)

But for recordings it's largely a question of looking back. The classical music critics of The New York Times would like to nudge that process along by listing favorite Mendelssohn recordings of their own. JAMES R. OESTREICH

As a modest contribution to celebrations of the bicentennial of Felix Mendelssohn, the classical music critics of The New York Times list here some of their favorite Mendelssohn recordings.

Anthony Tommasini

VIOLIN CONCERTO IN E MINOR Jascha Heifetz, violinist; Boston Symphony, conducted by Charles Munch (with Beethoven's Violin Concerto; RCA Red Seal 82876-61391-2; CD).

PIANO CONCERTOS NOS. 1, 2; 'VARIATIONS SéRIEUSES'; 'RONDO CAPRICCIOSO' Jean-Yves Thibaudet, pianist; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by Herbert Blomstedt (Decca 468 600-2; CD).

'SONGS WITHOUT WORDS' Walter Gieseking, pianist (with "Lyric Pieces" by Grieg; EMI Classics 5 66775 2; two CDs).

'ELIJAH' Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; other vocalists; New Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (EMI Classics 5 68601 2; two CDs).

MENDELSSOHN'S E Minor Violin Concerto is an absolutely perfect piece. By this I simply mean that it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. It is a miraculous, multitiered balancing act of Classical grace and Romantic ardor, musical taste and dazzling display, formal structure and impetuosity. And in just 25 minutes!

Among the many superb recordings of the concerto, my favorite these days is Jascha Heifetz's 1959 account with Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In rarefied violin circles you may gather that we are not supposed to like Heifetz. A dazzling virtuoso, yes, but slick and flashy. Do not believe it.

There is a slightly cool and unsentimental integrity to Heifetz's performance. The brisk tempo in the first movement comes across as urgent, not rushed. Heifetz plays the opening minor-mode theme in one arching, magisterial phrase. The utter precision and the rhythmic incisiveness of his playing are stunning. Yet the slow movement sings with elegant poignancy. The playful finale is a wondrous mix of capriciousness and intensity.

I grew up with Rudolf Serkin's exuberant recordings of the two Mendelssohn piano concertos, and there are many other good ones. I especially admire the 2001 release by the French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, with Herbert Blomstedt conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, an ensemble once directed by Mendelssohn. Mr. Thibaudet brings his trademark brio, elegance and impeccable technique to these spirited, youthful works. In addition, the exceptional clarity of his playing allows the ingenuity of the contrapuntal writing to come through. Mendelssohn was a devotee of Bach. And the recording includes Mr. Thibaudet's brilliant accounts of two Mendelssohn solo works: the "Variations Sérieuses" and the "Rondo Capriccioso."

To describe Mendelssohn's "Songs Without Words" as charming little novelties is to miss the point. These eight volumes of short lyric piano pieces are beautifully made and rich with musical subtleties, qualities that come through in the 1956 recording by the patrician pianist Walter Gieseking. Alas, he recorded only 17 of the 48 pieces. But the set includes his captivating performances of 31 "Lyric Pieces" by Grieg.

The oratorio "Elijah" is not perfect. There are cumbersome aspects to this ambitious score. Still, the somber beauty of Mendelssohn's music gets to me, especially in the 1968 recording conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, featuring some incomparable vocal soloists: Janet Baker, the young Gwyneth Jones, Nicolai Gedda and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. That's quite a lineup.

Allan Kozinn

SYMPHONY NO. 4, 'A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM' OVERTURE AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conducted by Charles Mackerras (Virgin Classics VC 7 90725 2; CD, available in a custom pressing from ArkivMusic.com).

VIOLIN CONCERTO IN E MINOR Janine Jansen, violinist, violist; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Chailly (with Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, Romance in F; Decca B0007260-02; CD).

STRING QUARTETS, STRING OCTET, OTHER WORKS Emerson String Quartet (Deutsche Grammophon B0003888-02; four CDs).

PIANO SONATA IN E, PRELUDE AND FUGUE, 'VARIATIONS SéRIEUSES,' 'RONDO CAPRICCIOSO' Murray Perahia, pianist (Sony Masterworks 37838; CD).WHEN Charles Mackerras's recording of the "Italian" Symphony was released in 1988, it was rare to hear period-instrument orchestras play music as late as Mendelssohn. But what the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment brought to its performance was a combination of transparency and delicacy that I've never heard in another recording of this work (or, for that matter, on any of this ensemble's other recordings). In the "Midsummer Night's Dream" music, the effect is magical, and magic, certainly, was what Mendelssohn was after.

It is virtually impossible to settle on a single reading of the E Minor Violin Concerto. The work has been ubiquitous on disc since the days of 78s, with every interpretive fashion of the 20th century copiously represented. So far the 21st century has brought no stylistically radical departures, but Janine Jansen's account has become a favorite for its energizing freshness, crisp articulation and mercurial spirit. Ms. Jansen plays the solo line with a sweet, singing tone, but even in the slow movement, she keeps the music from becoming lugubrious.

The string quartets have lately been getting the respect they deserve, but slowly: only the first two turn up in concert much, probably because the Canzonetta of the First Quartet and the Intermezzo of the Second are so irresistible. In the remaining four, that charm gives way to greater emotional intensity, and a current theory holds that the dark-hued Sixth may reflect Mendelssohn's despondency over a hopeless love affair with the singer Jenny Lind.

The Emerson players trace that emotional arc deftly and play this music with their customary precision and passion. Smaller works and student pieces fill out the set, along with a multitracked performance of the exquisite String Octet in which the Emerson players perform all eight parts. That may seem a technological party trick, but objections evaporate quickly as this brisk, shapely high-energy performance unfolds. (A video documentary about the recording of the octet is included in a CD-ROM section of the fourth disc.)

Mendelssohn's youthful E Major Piano Sonata may seem lightweight for its time (1826), but it has all the nimbleness of spirit and melodic ingenuity that make his other early works so appealing. Murray Perahia's 1984 recording presents it as decisive and mature as well, but the real treats here are the shorter works, most notably the beautifully involved "Variations Sérieuses."

Steve Smith

VIOLIN CONCERTO IN E MINOR Nathan Milstein, violinist; New York Philharmonic, conducted by Bruno Walter (with other concertos, other performers; Sony Classical 64459, MP3 download; Naxos 8.110977, CD).

SYMPHONY NO. 3, 'A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM' OVERTURE AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC Jennifer Vyvyan and Marion Lowe, sopranos; Female Chorus of the Royal Opera House; London Symphony, conducted by Peter Maag (Decca 466 990-2; CD).

SYMPHONY NO. 5 Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Lorin Maazel (with Franck's Symphony played by the Berlin Radio Symphony; Deutsche Grammophon 449 720-2; CD).

PIANO TRIOS NOS. 1, 2 Trio Wanderer (Harmonia Mundi France HMC 901961; CD).

O F all the war horses in the standard repertory, Mendelssohn's E Minor Violin Concerto is among the few that never grow stale. My collection includes both invaluable vintage performances (Fritz Kreisler, Alfredo Campoli) and vibrant recent accounts (Hilary Hahn, Janine Jansen). But the recording I turn to most often and the one that raises my hair like no other is Nathan Milstein's 1945 version with the New York Philharmonic.

Milstein recorded the concerto several times over the course of a long career, but this account offers the best blend of impetuosity and patrician elegance, along with a conductor of refinement and insight in Bruno Walter. The Sony CD is out of print but can be downloaded from Amazon.com for less than $3. A Naxos reissue features brighter, more detailed sound but is unavailable in the United States because of copyright restrictions; still, where there's a will, there's a way.

Peter Maag's 1960 Decca recording of the Third Symphony ("Scottish") has long been a staple of the Mendelssohn discography, and rightfully so: Maag splendidly captured the work's ruminative mystery and gamboling energy. The regal finale, capped with blazing French horns, has never sounded more resplendent than in this surprisingly rich, full recording, which wears its decades lightly. The sound is slightly thinner in eight selections from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," but the alert, verdant playing more than compensates.

The Fifth Symphony ("Reformation") has not achieved the popularity of the "Scottish" or the "Italian," both of which it predated (despite the chronologically jumbled standard numbering of the symphonies). Lorin Maazel, in a 1961 recording with the Berlin Philharmonic, makes the piece feel titanic in all the right ways. The opening Andante, weighty but never ponderous, leads to an especially fiery Allegro con Fuoco. And Mr. Maazel's mix of power and clarity pays dividends in the finale, based on the Lutheran hymn "Ein' Feste Burg."

The turbulent Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor has long ranked among Mendelssohn's most popular chamber works; accordingly, there is no shortage of recorded performances, including several by ad hoc supergroups. Few manage as exquisite a balance among instruments as that achieved by the Trio Wanderer on its 2007 CD, which also includes a compelling account of the Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor. Trio Wanderer's playing in the Second's demonic Scherzo will have you on the edge of your seat.

Vivien Schweitzer

VIOLIN CONCERTO IN E MINOR, STRING OCTET, THREE LIEDER Daniel Hope, violinist; Chamber Orchestra of Europe, conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock (Deutsche Grammophon 477 6634; CD).

PIANO CONCERTOS NOS. 1, 2; VIOLIN CONCERTO Rudolf Serkin, pianist; Isaac Stern, violinist; Philadelphia Orchestra, Columbia Symphony, conducted by Eugene Ormandy (Sony Classical SBK 46542; CD).

SONGS WITHOUT WORDS Andras Schiff, pianist (Decca 421 119-2; CD).

STRING QUARTET NO. 6 Miró Quartet (with Schubert's String Quintet and Matt Haimovitz, cellist; Oxingale Records OX2006; CD).

MENDELSSOHN, whom Schumann called "the Mozart of the 19th century," enjoyed public approval and financial success during his lifetime. But his posthumous reputation was jeopardized by Wagner's anti-Semitic rants and later assertions by eminent musicologists that his works were conservative and fluffy. Still, profound joy and tenderness are no less valid emotions than sorrow. If you're feeling grumpy, the exuberant Presto of Mendelssohn's String Octet is the ultimate antidepressant.

The violinist Daniel Hope (a descendant of Mendelssohn's teacher Carl Friedrich Zelter) and musicians from the Chamber Orchestra of Europe offer a high-spirited performance of the octet, written when Mendelssohn was 16. The disc also includes a heartfelt rendition of the popular E Minor Violin Concerto with the full orchestra. Thomas Hengelbrock conducts what is said to be the first recording of the 1844 version, which has subtle differences in orchestration and a different cadenza from the final 1845 edition. Mr. Hope also performs his own arrangements of three Mendelssohn songs for violin and piano.

More Mendelssohnian exuberance is on display in his two piano concertos, full of pianistic fireworks and tender lyricism. The pianist Rudolf Serkin plunges into the opening movement of the First Concerto with virtuosic panache, accompanied by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy. The disc also includes a performance (with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra) of the darker-hued Second Concerto and a passionate, richly hued performance of the violin concerto with Issac Stern.

Mendelssohn's remarkable lyrical gifts are also revealed in his "Songs Without Words," a set of eight volumes of six songs each, written throughout his career. The pianist Andras Schiff plays 22 of the songs, including the first two "Venetian Gondola Songs" and the vivacious "Spinning Song," with supple and unsentimental musicality.

Mendelssohn wrote the String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, perhaps his darkest work, at 38, in 1847, after the death of Fanny, his beloved sister. It is an anguished cry from the heartbroken composer (who died six months after Fanny) and should certainly have placated critics doubting his ability to convey the deepest pathos. The Miró Quartet gives an intense performance that illuminates the work's Sturm und Drang elements. The players highlight the seething tension of the opening movement and the angst of the second and final movements. Their interpretation of the poignant Adagio (which quotes a song Mendelssohn composed earlier to console Fanny after the death of a friend) is particularly memorable.

James R. Oestreich

SYMPHONIES NOS. 1, 5; 'THE HEBRIDES'; 'RUY BLAS' OVERTURE Gerald Fauth and Olga Gollej, pianists; Andreas Seidel, violinist; Matthias Moosdorf, cellist (MDG 307 1469-2; CD).

STRING SYMPHONIES NOS. 1, 4, 6, 7, 12 Concerto Köln (Teldec 4509-98435-2).

'DIE ERSTE WALPURGISNACHT,' 'A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM' OVERTURE AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC Vocal soloists; Chamber Orchestra of Europe, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Teldec 4509-94565-2; CD).

'PAULUS' Thomas Hampson, baritone; other soloists; Gulbenkian Chorus and Orchestra of Lisbon, conducted by Michel Corboz (Erato 2292-45279-2; two CDs).

IT may seem perverse for someone as inordinately fond of the symphony orchestra as I am to suggest a disc of chamber reductions of orchestral works. But I do so while enthusiastically seconding the symphony recommendations elsewhere on this page, all among my personal favorites.

The MDG disc, though seemingly spare in concept, is rich in every sense. It includes a generous cross-section of Mendelssohn's music: two of the five mature symphonies, the radiant concert overture "The Hebrides" and the overture to Hugo's drama "Ruy Blas" (which Mendelssohn considered "absolutely dreadful and below all dignity").

The leaner textures give many fascinating insights into the works' structures. But what recommends this disc more than anything is the sheer quality and involvement of the music-making. These performances throb with life. This from performers you have probably never heard of (except possibly the members of the Leipzig String Quartet). I find the CD compulsively listenable.

The best thing about the Concerto Köln disc of Mendelssohn string symphonies is that it is merely the first of three volumes comprising all 12 works. These early pieces demand strong and committed performances, more gritty than pretty, to make their effect, and Concerto Köln supplies them.

The "Midsummer Night's Dream" music receives top billing on a recording from Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and this is an excellent version, but it is spoken and sung in German. Of greater interest here is the spookily atmospheric cantata "Die Erste Walpurgisnacht," which is seldom heard in concert, though Kurt Masur will conduct it at the New York Philharmonic next week.

This is a tricky piece to pull off. Many recordings do one thing well; few do all. A driving nine-minute overture makes up a third of the work's length, and it is potentially thrilling, as Christoph von Dohnanyi has shown with the Cleveland Orchestra and, even more, on an old LP with the Frankfurt Museum Orchestra. Unfortunately those recordings suffer when the voices enter.

Mr. Harnoncourt achieves the requisite thrust and commands excellent vocal soloists, including the baritone Thomas Hampson and the bass René Pape, as well as the superb Arnold Schoenberg Choir.

Mr. Hampson is a particularly fine Mendelssohn interpreter. I first encountered his voice as that of St. Paul in the 1986 Michel Corboz recording of the early oratorio "Paulus." Though this work tries less and achieves less than the grand oratorio "Elijah," it is lovely and inspiriting, and when I return to it, I generally reach for Mr. Hampson's performance, well supported by those of all concerned.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: February 4, 2009
A listing on Friday of Times critics' favorite Mendelssohn recordings referred incorrectly to his Third Symphony at one point. As noted elsewhere, it is known as the "Scottish," not the "Spring." (That is the nickname of Schumann's First Symphony.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/arts/music/30feli.html?sq=Mendelssohn&st=cse&scp=4&pagewanted=print

http://snipurl.com/by4rk