# Mendelssohn - Op. 90 - Symphony No. 4



## HansZimmer (11 mo ago)

How do you rate this symphony?


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I like it but not as much as the Lobgesang, Third and Reformation symphonies. It has delights but is also slight. The others are all more substantial.


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## 4chamberedklavier (12 mo ago)

I like it. Especially the 3rd movement


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Love it. Love hearing it and playing it. The opening movement is a challenge for woodwinds - if the conductor goes too fast those repeated eighths are a bear! One of the great mid-19th c German symphonies. If he had only written the 3rd and 4th and nothing else he'd still be one of the great composers.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

4chamberedklavier said:


> I like it. Especially the 3rd movement


That's my least favorite but I think the symphony as a whole is brilliant. The first movement is one of my all time favorites and the whole symphony, completely avoiding the shadow Beethoven, classical in scope but highly original (esp. the tarantella/saltarello finale) is a great achievement. I like the "Scottish" as well but I think the A major is the more brilliant and original piece.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I think it works best when it's let go full cry but with a tight leash, like Szell does. (Can that even be done? Well, Szell comes pretty close.)


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Since Trout places Szell on the top of his list i just blindly followed. Normally I do some extra research on this forum but it’s szell so that’s the one I decided was going to be my reference recording. About the symphony, I like it but not as much as the 3rd


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

A lovely piece and always a joy to listen to! My long time favorites have been Szell/Cleveland and Van Beinum/Concertgebouw ( mono).


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Very good preference conducters: Abbado and Gardner


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

His 4th is generally considered his finest, I believe. I adore all 5 personally, and consider them at least on a par with Brahms or Tchaikovsky (Beethoven and Sibelius rate higher for me). His concertos, overtures, and chamber music are also terrific. Mendelssohn was a genius who left the world too soon.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Excellent, although the Scottish symphony is even better to my taste. Both are way better than the other Mendelssohn symphonies imo.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

It's an excellent symphony in my opinion, although I enjoy the _Scottish_ and the _Lobgesang_ even more.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Art Rock said:


> Excellent, although the Scottish symphony is even better to my taste. *Both are way better than the other Mendelssohn symphonies imo.*


 Amen to that! Some of the string symphonies he wrote are better than 1, 2, or 5.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I personally quite like 1. I think it's the equal of any of the output of, say, Schumann, and while it might not possess quite the same lyrical beauty of 3 & 4, it's a heck of a first go for a teen-aged Mendelssohn. The Menuetto is truly great, and the outer movements are exciting.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

mbhaub said:


> Amen to that! Some of the string symphonies he wrote are better than 1, 2, or 5.


Yeah, the string symphonies need a shout-out.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Manxfeeder said:


> Yeah, the string symphonies need a shout-out.


It seems that Mendelssohn's mature works are the ones that need a shout-out in my humble opinion. The string symphonies are good, yet they are only early, minor works that he composed when he was a child. And I think that it's about time people stopped believing in the myth that Mendelssohn's early works are better than his last ones.


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

Manxfeeder said:


> I think it works best when it's let go full cry but with a tight leash, like Szell does. (Can that even be done? Well, Szell comes pretty close.)


 You should try Solti and the Chicago-ans.. Just more fun!


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

It's a work I often recommend to people beginning to investigate classical music. Especially when paired with the Midsummer Night's Dream music.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

MatthewWeflen said:


> I personally quite like 1. I think it's the equal of any of the output of, say, Schumann, and while it might not possess quite the same lyrical beauty of 3 & 4, it's a heck of a first go for a teen-aged Mendelssohn. The Menuetto is truly great, and the outer movements are exciting.


I wouldn't go that far (I don't think even 3 and 4 are the equal of Schumann's symphonies) - but yeah, it's a remarkable effort. But fact is that later in life, Mendelssohn tried to suppress all performances of his 1st, feeling it wasn't up to his present standards.


mbhaub said:


> Some of the string symphonies he wrote are better than 1, 2, or 5.


True, I've got the feeling that once he "graduated" to full orchestral symphonies, he felt the weight of Beethoven pressing down on him, and it shows in his 1st. It's a display of forced, fake tragedy (Mendelssohn never experienced anything in his happy youth that would warrant those feelings) and while the middle movements are fine, the finale in particular is full of empty bombast.
Any of the later string symphonies - and the 2nd version of the 8th, with winds and brass - feel much more relaxed, natural and in tune with his character as a composer.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Xisten267 said:


> I think that it's about time people stopped believing in the myth that Mendelssohn's early works are better than his last ones.


They're just upset he didn't write like this in his late works-


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

RobertJTh said:


> True, I've got the feeling that once he "graduated" to full orchestral symphonies, he felt the weight of Beethoven pressing down on him, and it shows in his 1st. It's a display of forced, fake tragedy (Mendelssohn never experienced anything in his happy youth that would warrant those feelings) and while the middle movements are fine, the finale in particular is full of empty bombast.


He was fifteen at the time, or so; it's obviously still not a fully mature work, although technically proficient and pretty good.
But the brilliant thing about the "Italian symphony" is that it completely avoids "fake tragedy" or "shadow of Beethoven" (despite a few similarities with the 7th, I think, in the first two movements). I also don't think the "Scottish" has fake tragedy. The 5th is flawed (the inner movements seem like for a different piece) and I find the 2nd more a cantata than symphony, but I'd say that Mendelssohn avoided the weight of Beethoven in his 3+4 more successful than Schumann.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Kreisler jr said:


> He was fifteen at the time, or so; it's obviously still not a fully mature work, although technically proficient and pretty good.
> But the brilliant thing about the "Italian symphony" is that it completely avoids "fake tragedy" or "shadow of Beethoven" (despite a few similarities with the 7th, I think, in the first two movements). I also don't think the "Scottish" has fake tragedy. The 5th is flawed (the inner movements seem like for a different piece) and I find the 2nd more a cantata than symphony, but I'd say that Mendelssohn avoided the weight of Beethoven in his 3+4 more successful than Schumann.


Oh, what I called "fake tragedy" just applies to the 1st symphony, I should have made that more clear, sorry. Afterwards he almost completely freed himself from Beethoven's shadow and became his own man (though the "Lobgesang" 2nd is clearly inspired by Beethoven's 9th...)


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