# Favorite Mendelsshon Symphony



## hapiper (Mar 2, 2015)

Mendelsshon isn't well known for his symphonies it seems but which one would you say is his best effort.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

The third (Scottish), ahead of the fourth (Italian). Love them. I can do without the others.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Art Rock said:


> The third (Scottish), ahead of the fourth (Italian). Love them. I can do without the others.


I would agree with these 2 choices for favourites


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Yes, Art Rock speaks for me as well.


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

I've never heard any symphonies by Mendelsshon p), but my favourite Mendelssohn symphony is the "Reformation".


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## phlrdfd (Jan 18, 2015)

The third is my favorite. I also enjoy the fourth. But I'd like to put in a word for the first as being both underrated and a remarkable achievement for someone as young as Mendelssohn was when he composed it (I think he finished it when he was 15).


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Do the string symphonies count?


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I love both the third and fourth with the fourth on top mostly due to the spectacular final movement.


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## Haydnn (Feb 22, 2015)

I love the 5th. Is it the one that he insisted not be played?


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I like 1, 3, 4, and 5. Still trying to get into the second which is choral.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

The third is my favorite.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I'm not a big fan of Mendelssohn's symphonies, to be honest - I much prefer the concertos, overtures, psalms and chamber output. However, I would pick the 3rd if pushed. I also like the orchestral movements of the second but the work as a whole is a bit too sprawling for my liking.


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## nightscape (Jun 22, 2013)

3 then 4. The others are okay but I never have the urge to revisit them much. I see this doesn't seem to be uncommon among the posters here.

3 is usually the universally agreed upon favorite, and for good reason.


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## almc (Jan 26, 2013)

phlrdfd said:


> The third is my favorite. I also enjoy the fourth. But I'd like to put in a word for the first as being both underrated and a remarkable achievement for someone as young as Mendelssohn was when he composed it (I think he finished it when he was 15).


+1 ... Like I 've said it myself ...


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I was not aware that the Mendelssohn symphonies are not well known.


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

The Scottish. Number three, publication number. Number five, temporally. I believe.

Those repeated strokes in the final movement, screaming strings and rising quarter note horns that answer -- I hope everyone knows what I am talking about -- are so fantastic. Get that theme stuck in my head all the time. 

Also, I will say, the coda to the finale is still strange to me. Feels like it was written at a different moment in time. A tenuous connection. 

But still great!


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## csacks (Dec 5, 2013)

My favorite is the 4th. But the 1st, and it has already been mentioned, is full of youth and energy. It introduces the first movement´s main theme so brutally that only a 15 years old boy may have written that.
The second is beautiful as well. 
Probably the 5th is the only one that I do not use to listen.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

My mood affects this... probably the weather outside as well! Mendelssohn symphonies are such "moody" pieces and have different energies about them. Today I listened to the 5th and the 2nd. _Die Nacht ist vergangen_ in the 2nd is a rather marvellous passage - my wife commented that it reminded her of the ending of _Lohengrin_, 1st act.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The third, by a good margin. I love the moodiness, the sense of space, the local color, the feel of a journey and a homecoming. I consider this one of the supreme Romantic symphonies.

I do adore the first movement of the fourth, but don't care much about the rest of it. The others have great moments for me, but I rarely feel like listening to them.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I love the story of Schumann, who wrote a review of the Mendelssohn symphony after a concert. He wrote of the accuracy of the picturesque scenes of the Italian countryside, the verisimilitude of the convocation of the banditi, and so forth. It was only after his review went to print that he discovered he had actually heard the Scottish Symphony... :lol:


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

^^^ Evidently he didn't recognize the little Scottish dance in the scherzo and wonder why the Italian peasants were playing it.


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

I don't know about "best effort", but my favorite is his 1st.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

I love the third.
I like the fourth.
I enjoy the first.
I'm impressed by the fifth.
I occasionally listen to the 2nd.


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## HIDEKI SUKENOBU (Mar 31, 2015)

The 3rd is most successful work, I don't doubt. But the gorgeousness of his harmony glitters in rhe 2nd and the 5th. Eventually his oratorio, you may find the good example. #20 of Elijah (of course this is an oratorio and not a symphony). So I like his handling of harmonies when he wrote choral.


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## Elen (Feb 24, 2015)

Art Rock said:


> The third (Scottish), ahead of the fourth (Italian). Love them. I can do without the others.


I am agree, they are the best.


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## Troy (Apr 23, 2015)

HIDEKI SUKENOBU said:


> The 3rd is most successful work, I don't doubt. But the gorgeousness of his harmony glitters in rhe 2nd and the 5th. Eventually his oratorio, you may find the good example. #20 of Elijah (of course this is an oratorio and not a symphony). So I like his handling of harmonies when he wrote choral.


I love the Second as a choral singer but I have to say that my favourite Mendelssohn Symphony is the Third. Also if you like _Elijah_ you may also like _Paulus_ his "other" oratorio which contains some beautiful music. I have heard that it is better known in German speaking countries.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

When I want to listen to Mendelssohn, I prefer the chamber music.

My favorite movement from any Mendelssohn symphony is the third movement of the Fourth, so I would say the Italian Symphony.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

The fourth is my favourite, though I prefer the violin concerto.


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## Alydon (May 16, 2012)

Having immersed myself in Mendelssohn's symphonies for a lifetime I couldn't choose between them, only to say I now go by recording & what stands out compared to the competition & Thomas Fey's interpretations are a revelation and have me hitting the CD replay button.

But talking Mendelssohn symphonies, I would give a mention to his other set of symphonies, the string ones, some of which I would nominate as some of this composer's best music and a sadly underrated part of his output. Its also a shame that Mendelssohn didn't use the opening of his cantata Die erste Walpurgisnacht as a symphonic movement, as it certainly hits you between the eyes.


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## Arie (Jun 19, 2015)

Third and fourth symphonies are the best. Especially, the 1st movement of his 4th symphony is greatly captivating.
I was actually taken aback to know that Mendelssohn later quit from performing 'his Italian' as he was displeased with it. It's one of the best lively symphonies ever written, if you ask me, but why it displeased him is a mystery to me.


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## Proms Fanatic (Nov 23, 2014)

I don't think I've ever listened to his first or fifth for some reason (added to my list for future!). I like his Third (Scottish) the most but I also like his Second (Lobgesang) and Fourth (Italian) a lot, all for different reasons.


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## Johnnie Burgess (Aug 30, 2015)

My favorite is symphony # 5.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

"Scottish": Best---Maag/London Symphony and Next best---Bernstein/New York Philharmonic


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

#5 is a good one and commemorates the Reformation. So that gives me a connection to my religion. 

Scottish is a good one and is inspired in part by Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotts. So that gives me a connection to a favorite opera, Maria Stuarda.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

My favourite: Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, wonderful music .


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