Customer Reviews

Mendelssohn: Symphonies No. 4 'Italian' & No. 5 'Reformation'

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, to get the minus out of the way (because the plusses are more interesting and more extensive) it must be said that the violins of La Chambre philharmonique, a fairly newly-formed original instruments ensemble, are just a bit scrappy and even occasionally have some intonational problems particularly noticeable in the more dramatic portions of the 'Reformation' Symphony. But the overall impression one gets from these performances is that of lightness, delicacy, rhythmic near-perfection, rightly judged tempi and dynamics and an unquenchable joie de vivre. Emmanuel Krivine, the founder and director of this ensemble, is a much under-valued conductor primarily plying his art in the French musical scene. He was a prodigy violinist who was, beginning in the 1960s, mentored as a conductor by the redoubtable Karl Böhm. He leads an exceptionally beautiful performance of the 'Italian'. Was there ever a symphony with a more joyous beginning than the 'Italian', with those buoyant wind triplets burbling and chirruping away while the rest of the orchestra plays that vaunting, heart-leaping melody? Krivine and his group do this as well as anyone I've ever heard, and although I am not automatically one who would opt for original instruments in a work this late in the 19th century, it seems particularly apt here. Indeed, the transparency one gets from chamber-sized instrumentation and the light tonal qualities of the early instruments lend themselves to an invigorating effect. This same quality, however, becomes a bit overtaxed at times in the 'Reformation' although in its lighter moments, as in its second movement, it works very well. The andante third movement and the finale based on 'Ein' feste Berg ist unser Gott' come down a little light for their inherent gravity.

Thus I must give a somewhat mixed review to this release. This is a wonderful 'Italian', one I will reach for again and again, and a somewhat disappointing 'Reformation.'

Recorded sound is, like the instrumentation, transparent and true. I've been generally very pleased with the sound of the Naïve releases I've heard.

Scott Morrison

As the previous reviewer noted, the opening to the Italian is particularly thrilling. Just flat-out amazing. The crispness and energy really just blows the competition out of the water. Sure, the overall texture is a little dry, and the strings are a tad thin -- but I actually think this works FOR the music rather than against it. You get a sort of brittle delicacy and precision of articulation that is quite idiomatic. There's nothing else quite like it. If you have any interest in Mendelssohn's symphonies whatsoever, this is a must-buy. In fact, if you don't like Mendelssohn (I'm not always such a fan myself), then this may very well be the album that turns you on to the delights of Mendelssohn's oeuvre. One can only hope Krivine turns his attention to the Scottish at some point -- would be amazing to hear what he does with that!

The only quibble, on which point I would disagree with the previous reviewer, is that the engineering is NOT very good. Surely, it's good enough to enjoy the music. But listen to the horns in that adrenaline soaked opening to the Italian. Listen carefully. They create a weird buzzing/vibrating distortion in the mics. It's possible that this is actually the sound of sheet music vibrating against a music stand, but it strikes me as implausible that this would create such a loud sound. It is almost certainly some sort of microphone distortion, whether it's blowing out the mics, or whether it's causing sympathetic vibrations with some part of the mic stand -- who knows. But it is definitely noticeable and annoying. Overall, I am not extremely impressed with the micing, even forgiving the distortion.

That said, despite the less-than-perfect audio engineering, the actual music-making hits it so decisively out of the ballpark, after you hear it, you sort of feel like no one needs ever record this piece again -- simply put, it's perfect. "Perfect" is the word.