Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Symphony No.2 In B Flat Op.52 'Lobgesang':

SKU: BR.PB-5581

ISBN 9790004213919. 10 x 12.5 inches.

A Programmatic Declaration of BeliefFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy composed his Reformation Symphony for the celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of the Confessio Augustana, the Protestant declaration of faith. Owing to various and only partially explained reasons, there was no performance in 1830, the year in question; it was only two years later that the composer conducted the premiere of his work, now heavily revised, in Berlin. There was only one more performance in Mendelssohn's lifetime, this one conducted by Julius Rietz in Dusseldorf; the composer had since distanced himself from his opus.Conceived for the concert hall, the symphony formulates its theological references through the integration of various motives. This occurs in the finale, for example, in which Mendelssohn quotes the Luther chorale Ein feste Burg in the flute, from where it builds up to a triumphant principal theme. The strong extra-musical aspect must have been one of the reasons for the composer's later avoidance of this score, especially since Mendelssohn was becoming increasingly skeptical about explicitly programmatic music in the instrumental domain. Next to the Dusseldorf performance material of 1837, two scribal copies have been examined for the first time; they transmit the main stages of the version of 1830.

SKU: BR.OB-5581-23

ISBN 9790004343234. 10 x 12.5 inches.

A Programmatic Declaration of BeliefFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy composed his Reformation Symphony for the celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of the Confessio Augustana, the Protestant declaration of faith. Owing to various and only partially explained reasons, there was no performance in 1830, the year in question; it was only two years later that the composer conducted the premiere of his work, now heavily revised, in Berlin. There was only one more performance in Mendelssohn's lifetime, this one conducted by Julius Rietz in Dusseldorf; the composer had since distanced himself from his opus.Conceived for the concert hall, the symphony formulates its theological references through the integration of various motives. This occurs in the finale, for example, in which Mendelssohn quotes the Luther chorale Ein feste Burg in the flute, from where it builds up to a triumphant principal theme. The strong extra-musical aspect must have been one of the reasons for the composer's later avoidance of this score, especially since Mendelssohn was becoming increasingly skeptical about explicitly programmatic music in the instrumental domain. Next to the Dusseldorf performance material of 1837, two scribal copies have been examined for the first time; they transmit the main stages of the version of 1830.

SKU: BR.OB-5581-27

ISBN 9790004343241. 10 x 12.5 inches.

A Programmatic Declaration of BeliefFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy composed his Reformation Symphony for the celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of the Confessio Augustana, the Protestant declaration of faith. Owing to various and only partially explained reasons, there was no performance in 1830, the year in question; it was only two years later that the composer conducted the premiere of his work, now heavily revised, in Berlin. There was only one more performance in Mendelssohn's lifetime, this one conducted by Julius Rietz in Dusseldorf; the composer had since distanced himself from his opus.Conceived for the concert hall, the symphony formulates its theological references through the integration of various motives. This occurs in the finale, for example, in which Mendelssohn quotes the Luther chorale Ein feste Burg in the flute, from where it builds up to a triumphant principal theme. The strong extra-musical aspect must have been one of the reasons for the composer's later avoidance of this score, especially since Mendelssohn was becoming increasingly skeptical about explicitly programmatic music in the instrumental domain. Next to the Dusseldorf performance material of 1837, two scribal copies have been examined for the first time; they transmit the main stages of the version of 1830.

SKU: BR.OB-5581-19

ISBN 9790004343227. 10 x 12.5 inches.

A Programmatic Declaration of BeliefFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy composed his Reformation Symphony for the celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of the Confessio Augustana, the Protestant declaration of faith. Owing to various and only partially explained reasons, there was no performance in 1830, the year in question; it was only two years later that the composer conducted the premiere of his work, now heavily revised, in Berlin. There was only one more performance in Mendelssohn's lifetime, this one conducted by Julius Rietz in Dusseldorf; the composer had since distanced himself from his opus.Conceived for the concert hall, the symphony formulates its theological references through the integration of various motives. This occurs in the finale, for example, in which Mendelssohn quotes the Luther chorale Ein feste Burg in the flute, from where it builds up to a triumphant principal theme. The strong extra-musical aspect must have been one of the reasons for the composer's later avoidance of this score, especially since Mendelssohn was becoming increasingly skeptical about explicitly programmatic music in the instrumental domain. Next to the Dusseldorf performance material of 1837, two scribal copies have been examined for the first time; they transmit the main stages of the version of 1830.

SKU: BR.SON-438

ISBN 9790004803325. 9 x 12 inches.

The four-hand piano version of the Scottish Symphony was written by Mendelssohn in 1842, after he had finished the orchestral score, but before it was printed. A piano arrangement was an important element of publicity for him and his publisher, since this was the most effective way of getting an orchestral work known. When considering what a creative spirit Mendelssohn was, it is not surprising that he substantially altered the first and fourth movements in his arrangement, which, in its turn, left its mark on the score. The great diffusion of the work - and of the four-hand piano version above all - is certainly due in part to the fact that after its first edition by Breitkopf & Hartel in Leipzig, parallel editions were released in France and England, whereby a thank-you note from Prince Albert to Mendelssohn even suggests that he and his wife, Queen Victoria, played through the work at the piano from the dedicatory copy.

SKU: BR.SON-443

ISBN 9790004803516. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Mendelssohn 's ConfessionThe Reformation Symphony, misleadingly numbered posthumously as 5 by its publishers, was Mendelssohn's first confrontation with the large symphonic form in Beethoven's wake. Linking it conceptually with the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 1830 seems to have first occurred late in the progress of its composition, yet the premiere did not take place until 1832 and ultimately even enabled the composer to distance himself completely from his work and its concept. Thanks to access to a new source [or, ... new access to sources... or ...new access to a source...?], this edition can now finally refute the legend that a separate original or early version of the symphony once existed.

SKU: BR.SON-431

ISBN 9790004803103. 10 x 12.5 inches.

A mystifying question of versions surrounds the Italian: right after the world premiere in London, Mendelssohn is unsatisfied with his symphony. Since he no longer has the score with him, he writes it down afresh (except for the opening movement), but stops at three quarters of the way. In the meantime, trusted experts weigh in with their views. Fanny Hensel writes to her brother: I dont like the change in the first melody at all; why did you make it? Nevertheless, Felix continues to busy himself with the first movement, but ultimately finds no more time for it and leaves it primarily in the form of the complete early version of 1833, which is published posthumously and remains, to this day, a standard repertoire piece in all concert halls. The revised torso, in turn, was long ignored. It was published in this volume, yet it is clear that the three movements of the incomplete final version of 1834 were from the composers viewpoint not at all ready for publication, seeing that Mendelssohn had never critically reviewed them after having penned them.

SKU: BR.SON-410

ISBN 9790004802427. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Once again, musicological source studies preparing the publication of the volume in the Leipziger Mendelssohn-Ausgabe have provided a major surprise: the London version of June 1842 has survived in a copy of the score. Only with this score can the composer's (first) revision after the first performance in Leipzig be interpreted lucidly. A new light is thus cast on the often played Scottish Symphony which, incidentally, Mendelssohn never called as such.

SKU: BR.SON-430

ISBN 9790004802861. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Though Mendelssohn planned to revise his Italian Symphony, he came to a halt after three quarters of the piece following the successful London world premiere in 1833. The following year, he newly composed only movements 2 to 4, but there was no further performance of the work, let alone a publication. The London version was thus printed posthumously in 1851 and paved the way for the works international breakthrough. It is thus perfectly plausible to continue to consider this early version of 1833 as the valid form of the work, since it alone can claim to have been entirely conceived, conducted and thus introduced to the public by the composer.