Mendelssohn: 5 Symphonies, 7 Overtures (DG

What an exhilarating box of treats! Firstly, what an amazing tribute to the man who accomplished so much in his youth! Practically, half of the contents of this box were written before Mendelssohn was out of his teens. This includes a really good symphony that outshines many mature composers' first efforts at symphonic writing. The Scherzo in G minor is a setting for orchestra of a movement of the Octet and Mendelssohn used this as an alternative movement in the First Symphony.The Trumpet Overture and the Overture for Wind Instruments deserve to be better known. They are very good and totally enjoyable. Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage is less well known than The Hebrides Overture but both are beautifully rendered here. There are two more overtures written in the 1830s - 'The Fair Melusina' which again has the sound of the sea, and the overture 'Ruy Blas' which has some undertones of Berlioz. Then there are the symphonies of Mendelssohn's mature years. He does not seem to have liked his 'Reformation' Symphony and it did not get published until after his death. However it has lot of music in it that is worth hearing. The 'Italian' and the 'Scottish' Symphonies are very popular works and Claudio Abbado with the London Symphony Orchestra play them fittingly beautifully. I particularly like the performance of the slow movement of the 'Scottish'. The pinnacle of this box set may well be the 'Hymn of Praise' (Lobgesang)- effectively both a cantata and a symphony - lasting more than seventy minutes - all the elements are brought effectively together - the London Symphony Chorus, the soloists and the orchestra - a fitting conclusion to this treasury of the works of Mendelssohn.

The various sound engineers involved in this collection deserve five stars just for themselves. This is possibly the best recorded sound of any composer's work that I have ever heard. Warm, rich and perfectly balancing the various components of the orchestra you swirl, gallop, swim and skate through the unfolding music seamlessly but, thankfully, not too smoothly. If it were possible to morph the music if Mozart into that of Brahms then, somewhere at the halfway point, you would get something sounding like Mendelssohn. These symphonies have all the fleet- footed fizz and dexterity of Mozart's melodies coupled with the nascent undulating orchestral soundscape that became a feature of Brahms' symphonies. Claudio Abbado, with the London Symphony Orchestra, perfectly captures this blend. Indeed, considering the aforementioned wonderful record engineering, if music were coffee then this collection would be the finest gold blend.In addition to the symphonies this collection also offers seven overtures, each one a mini-masterpiece. Depending on your viewpoint, the second symphony, 'Hymn of Praise', either sticks out like a bit of an oddity or acknowledges one of Mendelssohn's somewhat neglected masterpieces. If Handel's 'Messiah' and Beethoven's 'Choral' symphony didn't exist then it would surely be regarded more highly but, instead, does rather come across as his shot at both, without quite matching either. Whatever, this neatly packaged box set of four CDs offers some of the finest music you will ever hear - and it comes with a comprehensive booklet of notes on all the works, to boot. Buy it and you will not be disappointed.

This wonderful boxed-set comprises a grand total of 4 CD's featuring Mendelssohn's entire Symphonic output (Nos. 1 - 5), whilst also managing to squeeze in his seven Overtures for good measure. Felix's third Symphony ("Scottish") and fourth Symphony ("Italian") are probably the most widely performed pieces nowadays, but nonetheless it has been quite interesting for me to familiarise myself with some of his lesser known works.If you are reading this review, it is likely that you may well be familiar with some of Mendelssohn's more popular Overtures such as "A Midsummer Night's Dream" or "The Hebrides" (commonly referred to as "Fingal's Cave") for example, whilst not forgetting to mention "Ruy Blas" etc. At the time, the London Symphony Orchestra were at the top of their game under the masterful baton of Claudio Abbado and at no point during exhaustive listening sessions to these exceptional recordings can I find fault with the musical interpretations of these works.Incidentally, the recording venues were especially chosen for their renowned acoustics by Deutsche Grammophon's exacting sound engineers and include those found at the respective churches of All Saints, Tooting, S.W. London and St. John's, Smith Square central London, as well as Walthamstow's Town Hall in east London. Personally, I would not hesitate for one moment to highly recommend these delightful discs to anyone considering the purchase of Mendelssohn's Symphonic output. In all honesty I regard this boxed-set of CD's as a genuine bargain, because the total cost amounted to just over £14.00 inc P&P, which works out at roughly £3.50 per disc. In conclusion I feel sure you will enjoy these recordings so purchase with absolute confidence.

This is a Collector edition including the five symphonies of Mendelssohn and some shorter pieces (Overtures, etc,) in a wonderful performing (Abbado and LSO). Even there should be some individual recordings of the same quality or better, I proffered this complete box, one reason being that, yes, I love Abbado. Of course, some symphonies are famous, while some others are performed more rarely (the first, for example). The sound is very good and the price is fair. Unfortunately, the booklet does not contain the lyrics of the Second Symphony, which I consider to be a lack for a collector edition. Five stars for the music, but only four stars for DG.

It is good to be able to own this collection, especially when tied to the house for so long during this lockdown. The symphonies and overtures are varied, with some very well known pieces, and others less so (well at least to me.