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Mendelssohn wants an amplitude of soul, a generosity of spirit, a joyful yet serious appreciation of the beauty of pure sound, and the essential goodness and rightness of life. The solemn expectancy of the chords spun of gossamer and thin air at the opening of the Overture from A Midsummer Night's Dream, the gracious beneficence of the song danced through sunshine and warm air in the Con moto moderato from the Italian Symphony, the controlled exhilaration of the rhythms compounded of lust and hot air in the Salterello from the Italian Symphony: these are the things that make Mendelssohn the most blessed and beatific of German Romantic composers.
But not on this disc with James Levine leading the Berlin Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In the Italian, Levine conducts with reckless abandon and the Berlin plays with cheerful disregard, and the effect is distinctly ungallant, not to say gauche. As it did in its few other recordings with Levine, the Berlin sounds distinctly disinclined to pay much attention to Levine and the performance is ultimately inoffensive if undistinguished. But the Chicago Symphony, an orchestra that played under Levine for two decades, seems more than distinctly disinclined; it seems outright hostile to Levine. The Chicago's strings are scrawny, the winds are squawky, the brass are blatty, the ensemble is sloppy, and the tonal color is garish, not to say gaudy. As it did in many if not most of its many recordings with Levine, the Chicago seems almost antagonist with Levine and the performance is ultimately a grudge match between irresistible force and immovable object. Universal's remastering of Deutsche Grammophon's early digital sound is only a little less hard and edgy than the original.
© TiVo
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Symphony No. 4 In A Major, Op. 90, MWV N 16 - "Italian" (Felix Mendelssohn)
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchestra, MainArtist - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist - Christian Feldgen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dr. Steven Paul, Producer, Executive Producer - Klaus Behrens, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Wolfgang Mitlehner, Balance Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Werner Mayer, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 1989 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchestra, MainArtist - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist - Christian Feldgen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dr. Steven Paul, Producer, Executive Producer - Klaus Behrens, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Wolfgang Mitlehner, Balance Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Werner Mayer, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 1989 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchestra, MainArtist - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist - Christian Feldgen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dr. Steven Paul, Producer, Executive Producer - Klaus Behrens, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Wolfgang Mitlehner, Balance Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Werner Mayer, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 1989 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchestra, MainArtist - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist - Christian Feldgen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dr. Steven Paul, Producer, Executive Producer - Klaus Behrens, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Wolfgang Mitlehner, Balance Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Werner Mayer, Producer, Recording Producer
℗ 1989 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Incidental Music, Op. 61, MWV M 13 (Felix Mendelssohn)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - Cord Garben, Producer - Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - William Shakespeare , Author - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist
℗ 1985 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - Cord Garben, Producer - Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - William Shakespeare , Author - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist
℗ 1985 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
Judith Blegen, Soprano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Chicago Symphony Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - Margaret Hillis, Chorus Master, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Cord Garben, Producer - Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - William Shakespeare , Author - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist - Florence Quivar, Mezzo-Soprano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1985 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - Cord Garben, Producer - Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - William Shakespeare , Author - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist
℗ 1985 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - Cord Garben, Producer - Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - William Shakespeare , Author - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist
℗ 1985 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - Cord Garben, Producer - Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - William Shakespeare , Author - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist
℗ 1985 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op.61 Incidental Music (Felix Mendelssohn)
Judith Blegen, Soprano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Chicago Symphony Chorus, Choir, MainArtist - Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - Margaret Hillis, Chorus Master, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Cord Garben, Producer - Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - William Shakespeare , Author - James Levine, Conductor, MainArtist
℗ 1985 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
Album review
Mendelssohn wants an amplitude of soul, a generosity of spirit, a joyful yet serious appreciation of the beauty of pure sound, and the essential goodness and rightness of life. The solemn expectancy of the chords spun of gossamer and thin air at the opening of the Overture from A Midsummer Night's Dream, the gracious beneficence of the song danced through sunshine and warm air in the Con moto moderato from the Italian Symphony, the controlled exhilaration of the rhythms compounded of lust and hot air in the Salterello from the Italian Symphony: these are the things that make Mendelssohn the most blessed and beatific of German Romantic composers.
But not on this disc with James Levine leading the Berlin Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In the Italian, Levine conducts with reckless abandon and the Berlin plays with cheerful disregard, and the effect is distinctly ungallant, not to say gauche. As it did in its few other recordings with Levine, the Berlin sounds distinctly disinclined to pay much attention to Levine and the performance is ultimately inoffensive if undistinguished. But the Chicago Symphony, an orchestra that played under Levine for two decades, seems more than distinctly disinclined; it seems outright hostile to Levine. The Chicago's strings are scrawny, the winds are squawky, the brass are blatty, the ensemble is sloppy, and the tonal color is garish, not to say gaudy. As it did in many if not most of its many recordings with Levine, the Chicago seems almost antagonist with Levine and the performance is ultimately a grudge match between irresistible force and immovable object. Universal's remastering of Deutsche Grammophon's early digital sound is only a little less hard and edgy than the original.
© TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
- Total length: 01:08:15
- Main artists: Berliner Philharmoniker James Levine
- Composer: Felix Mendelssohn
- Label: Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
- Genre: Classical
- Collection: Masters
© 1999 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin This Compilation ℗ 1999 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
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