Mendelssohn & Schubert
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn
Label: DG
Magazine Review Date: 7/1985
Media Format: Vinyl
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 415 137-1GH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Nocturne (Act 3) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Wedding March (Entr'acte to Act 5) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Finale: 'Through the house' (Act 5) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Overture, Op. 21 |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Scherzo (Entr'acte to Act 2) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Song with chorus: 'You spotted snakes' (Act 2) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Entr'acte/Intermezzo (Hermia seeks Lysander; Entrystics: Act 3) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern, Movement: Die Zauberharfe, D644 Overture |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Franz Schubert, Composer James Levine, Conductor |
| Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern, Movement: No. 5, Entr'acte in B flat after Act 3 |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Franz Schubert, Composer James Levine, Conductor |
| Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern, Movement: No. 9, Ballet No. 2 in G |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Franz Schubert, Composer James Levine, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn
Label: DG
Magazine Review Date: 7/1985
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 415 137-4GH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Nocturne (Act 3) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Wedding March (Entr'acte to Act 5) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Finale: 'Through the house' (Act 5) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Overture, Op. 21 |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Scherzo (Entr'acte to Act 2) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Song with chorus: 'You spotted snakes' (Act 2) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Entr'acte/Intermezzo (Hermia seeks Lysander; Entrystics: Act 3) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern, Movement: Die Zauberharfe, D644 Overture |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Franz Schubert, Composer James Levine, Conductor |
| Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern, Movement: No. 5, Entr'acte in B flat after Act 3 |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Franz Schubert, Composer James Levine, Conductor |
| Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern, Movement: No. 9, Ballet No. 2 in G |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Franz Schubert, Composer James Levine, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn
Label: DG
Magazine Review Date: 7/1985
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 415 137-2GH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Nocturne (Act 3) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Wedding March (Entr'acte to Act 5) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Finale: 'Through the house' (Act 5) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Overture, Op. 21 |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Scherzo (Entr'acte to Act 2) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Song with chorus: 'You spotted snakes' (Act 2) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| (A) Midsummer Night's Dream, Movement: Entr'acte/Intermezzo (Hermia seeks Lysander; Entrystics: Act 3) |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Florence Quivar, Contralto (Female alto) James Levine, Conductor Judith Blegen, Soprano |
| Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern, Movement: Die Zauberharfe, D644 Overture |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Franz Schubert, Composer James Levine, Conductor |
| Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern, Movement: No. 5, Entr'acte in B flat after Act 3 |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Franz Schubert, Composer James Levine, Conductor |
| Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern, Movement: No. 9, Ballet No. 2 in G |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Franz Schubert, Composer James Levine, Conductor |
Author:
The genius of the youthful Mendelssohn in composing the Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream at the age of only 17 still amazes. The only real rival is Schubert who wrote Gretchen am Spinnrade at the same age. ''What about Mozart?'' some readers will protest. Well, he was just astonishing, for he developed far more than Mendelssohn ever did. Also, he had died at 35, just after he was the age when Mendelssohn completed the Midsummer Night's Dream music, so his work was done incomparably; but one must admit that the orchestra of his younger days hardly made the demands that the orchestration of this overture alone made on Mendelssohn.
Somebody said of the Overture that with it Mendelssohn ''brought fairyland into the orchestra'', and this new recording does just that, for the Chicago orchestra plays marvellously, their pp violins in particular playing with the merest rustle of sound that perfectly conjures up the faint rustle of fairy wings. It is a wide-ranging recording, as good on LP as on the CD; and if you start the Overture at a low level it evokes the atmosphere perfectly—and the loud brass of the Wedding March will then be just right, brilliant and jubilant. Indeed, that is the great quality of Levine's performance, that it perfectly fits the mood of each piece as it occurs in the play. The singers in ''You spotted snakes'' and in the final scene are admirable, with particularly clear diction: and in the Intermezzo Levine, unlike Marriner on his Philips disc (411 106-1PH, 4/84; T 411 106-2PH, 5/84) follows its appropriately stormy performance with the bit that leads to the scene of the rustics. It is admirable, in fact, as is, in its own way, the playing of the Rosamunde pieces. As the Mendelssohn takes more than a side, there is room only for the Overture, the B flat Entr'acte and the G major ballet music but each is splendidly played. An excellent record, in fact, in either form and one that takes a leading place in an already wide field.'
Somebody said of the Overture that with it Mendelssohn ''brought fairyland into the orchestra'', and this new recording does just that, for the Chicago orchestra plays marvellously, their pp violins in particular playing with the merest rustle of sound that perfectly conjures up the faint rustle of fairy wings. It is a wide-ranging recording, as good on LP as on the CD; and if you start the Overture at a low level it evokes the atmosphere perfectly—and the loud brass of the Wedding March will then be just right, brilliant and jubilant. Indeed, that is the great quality of Levine's performance, that it perfectly fits the mood of each piece as it occurs in the play. The singers in ''You spotted snakes'' and in the final scene are admirable, with particularly clear diction: and in the Intermezzo Levine, unlike Marriner on his Philips disc (411 106-1PH, 4/84; T 411 106-2PH, 5/84) follows its appropriately stormy performance with the bit that leads to the scene of the rustics. It is admirable, in fact, as is, in its own way, the playing of the Rosamunde pieces. As the Mendelssohn takes more than a side, there is room only for the Overture, the B flat Entr'acte and the G major ballet music but each is splendidly played. An excellent record, in fact, in either form and one that takes a leading place in an already wide field.'
Mendelssohn & Schubert
Mendelssohn & Schubert
Mendelssohn & Schubert
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