# mendelssohn recordings?



## eothen

hi, 

Would anyone here know of any good recordings of Mendelssohn's 'Midsummer Night's Dream', and also his Hebrides Overture? They are among the first classical pieces i listened to as a child and i'm kinda sentimentally attached to them, but they're not exactly the kinds of pieces that most people listen to too much, i guess, and i haven't really been able to find recommendations for recordings elsewhere.

Any help would be appreciated!


----------



## Toccata

This for Midsummer Night's Dream:










and this for Hebrides overture (also including Symphonies 3 & 4):








It's by the London Classical Players cond. by Roger Norrington. It's the largest picture I could find; you'll see it on Amazon; type into Google: "amazon mendelssohn hebrides london classical players".


----------



## joen_cph

Not an expert, haven´t heard the above-mentioned ones. But as regards "Fingal´s Cave / The Hebrides" I´ve got these:

CD - Jaime Laredo,Scottish CO/brilliant 40cd 92393 
CD - Christoph Dohnanyi,WPO/decca cd 87 417 731-2
LP - Moshe Atzmon,NewP/emi 76 esd 7003
LP - Leo Blech,SO (historical, _very _mono)/melodiya 81 m10 043657-58
LP - Karajan,BPO/dg 2530 126

Karajan´s is a rather static voyage and the ship seems to be stuck on a sand-bank, not much movement there, but lots of Germanic fanfares ... . Dohnanyi´s is accompanied by a very fine 3rd Symphony, but the vessel likewise sets its sails with a safe tempo for the Hebrides, too predictable to my taste. Laredo´s recording has a smaller string section and there is some lyrical, gracious - if sometimes also uneven - chamber-like playing, but she takes the danger or nature-depicting out of the music too much and it can become even divertimento- or etude-like, as it is heard in the final part, which becomes a very poor anti-climax. 
I´ve always stuck to the Atzmon, the first I heard. He plays it like it was a late-romantic symphonic orchestral poem by Sibelius or Strauss, and makes it much more nature-evoking. The string playing has much more grandeur and flight than in the previous ones, the bird calls are really felt as such. It is not a totally perfect issue, the overall picture of the orchestra is somewhat distant & there are a couple of places where the details could be better emphasized (Atzmon got mixed reviews, as can be seen on the web) but as said I prefer it among these. It is often coupled with the symphonies conducted by Muti which has had less favourable reviews; if you decide to give it a try, avoid that combination, or stick to an mp3 download of the ouverture only. Must also say that the LP sound perhaps appears more spacious than the CD issue.

I remember once listening to the Abbado on DG but having decided that his was not necessary as a supplement. There are however also recordings by Bernstein and Dorati, to mention some.

As regards "A Midsummer Night´s Dream" I only have two grabbed-at-hand recordings of this delightful work & won´t say anything.


----------



## christmashtn

Midsummer: Andre Previn, London Symphony Orchestra on EMI or Erich Leinsdorf, Boston Symphony on RCA (out of print in USA but copies still pop up on amazon, Japan CD of same might be gotten from www.amazon.co.jp) Leinsdorf's BSO was a much more polished ensemble in the mid 60's than it was for Ozawa on DG some 20 years later. I must agree with one amazon reviewer. Ozawa's is a bore when compared to the Leinsdorf. Leinsdorf employs the optional spoken dialogue. Inga Swanson is the narrator on the Leinsdorf recording, and noone has ever done the narration as tastefully. Previn's is dialogue free.

Hebrides: Peter Maag, London Symphony Orchestra on Decca/London hands down. This to is out of print on CD in the USA, but again copies are often found still on amazon. It was on Decca/London's Classic Sound series paired with an outstanding 3rd "Scottish" Symphony, and some very well performed HIGHLIGHTS from Midsummer.


----------



## eothen

Thanks for introducing such a wide range of recordings! Right now i'm looking for a dramatic Hebrides that brings to my adult mind the same rolling echoing ocean waves that i heard as a child. And a magically shimmery and playful Midsummer. Will go listen to as many of these recordings as are available online before deciding which to buy. 

So glad to have discovered this forum.


----------



## christmashtn

*Sound clips on amazon*

You can listen to samplings from each track of both the Previn and Leinsdorf Midsummer on amazon.


----------



## drth15

*Mendelsohn*

The 1959 Peter Maag/London Symphony remains one of the most dynamic & colorful ever recorded. The disc also includes an eloquent Sym #3.

Marriner's Midsummer Night's Dream on Philips is one of his finest recordings.


----------



## SixFootScowl

I have the bug to get a Midsummer Night's Dream recording. I hear this one is very good:










Some have spoken words included, but were they part of the original, or just added later from Shakespeare's book? Is this one better to get sung in English or German?

Not quite 7 years. Seems a waste to start a new thread when this one exists.


----------



## bigshot

drth15 said:


> The 1959 Peter Maag/London Symphony remains one of the most dynamic & colorful ever recorded. The disc also includes an eloquent Sym #3.
> 
> Marriner's Midsummer Night's Dream on Philips is one of his finest recordings.


Seconded on both.


----------



## Johnnie Burgess

I wonder if the writer of the op ever found one he liked.


----------



## Pugg

Florestan said:


> I have the bug to get a Midsummer Night's Dream recording. I hear this one is very good:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Some have spoken words included, but were they part of the original, or just added later from Shakespeare's book? Is this one better to get sung in English or German?
> 
> Not quite 7 years. Seems a waste to start a new thread when this one exists.


Very good choice .


----------



## geralmar

Johnnie Burgess said:


> I wonder if the writer of the op ever found one he liked.


And I wonder if the author of post #3 has discovered that Jaime Laredo is a he.


----------



## KenOC

Time flies. Jaime Laredo, a fixture of my youthful listening, is now 75. I see he was born in Bolivia. He was Glenn Gould's partner in Bach's Violin Sonatas. He happily survives, but Gould does not. Alas.


----------



## Animal the Drummer

Karajan's coupling of the "Scottish" and "Italian" symphonies includes the best version of the "Hebrides" Overture I ever expect to hear.


----------



## Pugg

If you are still searching

Klaus Peter Flor on Sony http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Sony/G010003312379Q


----------



## SixFootScowl

Stopped by Dearborn Music today and turned in some DVDs I didn't want any more (including the sickeningly boring Lo Frate Nnamorato) and bought a Midsummer Night's Dram disk at their 20% off sale. I probably will not stop at one on this work so keep the recommendations coming. Here is what I got today (has 5 stars by my favorite Amazon reviewer):


----------



## Pugg

I Know you are not fond of the cover bit this one is so sublime :

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Harmonia+Mundi/HMC902151


----------



## SixFootScowl

Florestan said:


> Stopped by Dearborn Music today and turned in some DVDs I didn't want any more (including the sickeningly boring Lo Frate Nnamorato) and bought a Midsummer Night's Dram disk at their 20% off sale. I probably will not stop at one on this work so keep the recommendations coming. Here is what I got today (has 5 stars by my favorite Amazon reviewer):


Well, this one proves to be quite satisfactory. Not sure I need any others. But will consider suggestions.


----------



## Pugg

Florestan said:


> Well, this one proves to be quite satisfactory. Not sure I need any others. But will consider suggestions.


I am sorry Florestan, I mean this one , bit confusing from my site.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Sony/G010003312379Q


----------



## SixFootScowl

Pugg said:


> I am sorry Florestan, I mean this one , bit confusing from my site.
> 
> http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Sony/G010003312379Q


Ah yes, Flor. That one is highly rated too. I also like the Previn recording. And for completeness, the NAXOs recording would be a must.


----------



## Merl

For the Hebrides I'd like to give a shout for Gardiner and the LSO live. A superb Hebrides, 3rd Symphony and Schumann piano concerto too. Exciting and stunning recording.










I'm not a lover of Midsummer Night's Dream but I have the Marriner with the Philharmonia on Phillips and it's very well recorded (and fairly brisk if I recall). Others may offer better alternatives but it's as cheap as chips secondhand on Ebay and Amazon.


----------



## Pugg

Merl said:


> For the Hebrides I'd like to give a shout for Gardiner and the LSO live. A superb Hebrides, 3rd Symphony and Schumann piano concerto too. Exciting and stunning recording.
> 
> I'm not a lover of Midsummer Night's Dream but I have the Marriner with the Philharmonia on Phillips and it's very well recorded (and fairly brisk if I recall). Others may offer better alternatives but it's as cheap as chips secondhand on Ebay and Amazon.


And Arleen Auger is a voice from heaven.


----------



## SixFootScowl

This one looks quite interesting:










https://www.amazon.com/Mendelssohn-Midsummer-Nights-Rebecca-Evans/dp/B00005TNND


----------



## CDs

Florestan said:


> Stopped by Dearborn Music today and turned in some DVDs I didn't want any more (including the sickeningly boring Lo Frate Nnamorato) and bought a Midsummer Night's Dram disk at their 20% off sale. I probably will not stop at one on this work so keep the recommendations coming. Here is what I got today (has 5 stars by my favorite Amazon reviewer):


Listening to this right now. Did you ever pick up other versions of this work?


----------



## SixFootScowl

CDs said:


> Listening to this right now. Did you ever pick up other versions of this work?


I got the Joyce DiDonato one that I was contemplating in post #23, which is in English and has parts of the Shakespeare play read between parts. It is a novelty but I would skip it if doing it again and just stay with the Herreweghe set.


----------



## DavidA

Andrew Litton's unheralded performance on budget EMI has always been a good one. For horn playing in the Nocturne hear Dennis Brain on Kletzki


----------



## Animal the Drummer

"Midsummer Night's Dream": Klemperer - yes, Klemperer. One or two of the tempi are a tad slower than some, but for me that's no drawback in this music, which for me is too often performed in too rushed a manner, and the Philharmonia play like angels for him.

"Hebrides" overture: Karajan, all day long. Some may find his version a touch too statuesque but, again, I think his approach suits the music to a T, and it's coupled with *the* best version of the "Scottish" Symphony (though admittedly, for my money, a rather less recommendable one of the "Italian" as well) that I have ever heard.


----------



## jegreenwood

DavidA said:


> Andrew Litton's unheralded performance on budget EMI has always been a good one. For horn playing in the Nocturne hear Dennis Brain on Kletzki


Litton is now the principal conductor at New York City Ballet. I've seen Balanchine's ballet version (with Mendelssohn's music) several times and had not planned to see it this year. Maybe I should.


----------



## Brahmsian Colors

For outstanding interpretations of the Hebrides Overture, I would recommend Maag/London Symphony and Reiner/Chicago Symphony.

The best I've heard of the Incidental Music To a Midsummer Night's Dream is Kempe's with the Berlin Phiharmonic, though to my ears, the recorded sound is somewhat bright on his original Angel lp recording. Monteux/Vienna Philharmonic is very fine, though soundwise not among the best recorded either. Szell/Cleveland is excellent with good sound. For the Complete Midsummer with soloists, Haitink and the Royal Concertgebouw (aka the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam) is a top recommendation.


----------

