Mendelssohn - String Symphonies 9-12, Octet
£14.20
In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day
Despatch Information
This despatch estimate is based on information from both our own stock and the UK supplier's stock.
If ordering multiple items, we will aim to send everything together so the longest despatch estimate will apply to the complete order.
If you would rather receive certain items more quickly, please place them on a separate order.
If any unexpected delays occur, we will keep you informed of progress via email and not allow other items on the order to be held up.
If you would prefer to receive everything together regardless of any delay, please let us know via email.
Pre-orders will be despatched as close as possible to the release date.
Label: Australian Eloquence
Cat No: ELQ4825111
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 2
Release Date: 6th April 2018
Contents
Works
Octet in E flat major, op.20String Symphonies (13)
Artists
I MusiciWorks
Octet in E flat major, op.20String Symphonies (13)
Artists
I MusiciAbout
In the 1960s and 70s, I Musici were synonymous for record collectors with Baroque music. Having been founded by graduates from Rome’s Accademia di Santa Cecilia in 1951, they soon picked up an exclusive contract with Philips and proceeded to make classic recordings such as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with Salvatore Accardo (now reissued on Eloquence, 4825091) as well as familiarising listeners with figures less well-known at the time such as Albinoni (4643672) and Tartini (4825079).
The present release compiles the recordings of Mendelssohn made by the ensemble for Philips between 1961 and 1970. The first of these featured the Ninth String Symphony on Side B, coupled with dances by Schubert which have already been reissued by Eloquence on ‘Dances of Old Vienna’ (4826152). Almost everything Mendelssohn composed during his teenage years is graced with the spirit of the Baroque, and in these string symphonies he flexes youthful muscle in explorations of harmony, rhythm, structure and scoring.
While the melodic freshness and contrapuntal facility of the symphonies are remarkably precocious, the Octet is still more astonishing as the work of a fully formed creative mind, operating at the height of its power and imagination at just sixteen years of age. The enjoyment taken by I Musici themselves is palpable: one of them once remarked in interview: ‘Sometimes we get awfully fed up with all these -aldis and -ellis and -inis and -onis. We love this music of course, and we’d never give it up. But it would be so nice now and then if we could play something different.’
‘I Musici performs with splendid musicianship, beautiful tone, and obvious relish. Philips’s sound is clean and bright. A delightful disc.’ - High Fidelity, July 1968 (String Symphony No.9)
‘Of all the fine recordings I Musici has given us, this is surely one of the most joyous - an unabashed romp in the sun from start to finish. The Octet is soaring, free and wonderfully flexible in dynamics.’ - High Fidelity, June 1970
‘I Musici plays all this music impeccably, catching the gaiety of much of it and fully expressing the deep feeling in the symphony’s first movement. Excellent recording, too.’ - Gramophone, February 1971 (Symphony No.11)
Error on this page? Let us know here
Need more information on this product? Click here