Felix Mendelssohn's symphonies are widely present in the catalog. If the excellent insulated versions abound (the "Italian" with Toscanini and the NBC Orchestra for RCA, the "Scottish Klemperer"), Good integrals are rare. The curious and demanding music lover can turn to the interpretations I Abbado with the London Symphony Orchestra dg) better than Abbado II published by Decca, which gives us the antithesis fluid readings massive versions of Karajan (DG) or too caricatured baroquisantes Norrington . Apart from malaimée (and perhaps more unfamiliar 2nd symphony why I do not have comparisons, I appreciate that each of the four symphonies be reimbursed for the style desired by Mendelssohn (it is far from the vision of George Szell classicizing which does not lack spice and the romantic Klemperer: he finds the right tone constantly, restoring the expressive intensity of each work: his style is not breaking with the classicism as evidenced by its interpretation of " Italian "(which pulls with réminissences Mozart concerto for piano and orchestra KV 466) while his romantic inspiration remains in the" Scottish "and" Reformation ".
The supplements are far from negligible: the seven openings and the "Scherzo in G minor" extract from the "Octet".
