Mendelssohn: The Complete Symphonies Nos.1 & 4

Their immersive journey begins with three pieces which exhibit the scintillating promise of his early career, starting with the rambunctious Piano Concerto No.1, premiered by Mendelssohn himself in 1831 and demonstrating his natural affinity for crafting piano technique into a thrilling musical story and a willingness to experiment. At tonight’s concert it is performed by Sir András, who also directs. It is followed by Symphony No.1, which Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847) composed when he was just 15. At its London premiere in 1829, one critic wrote that ‘fertility of invention and novelty of effect, are what first strike the hearers’. The programme concludes with Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, with the country’s colour flying out of the orchestra right from the first sun-drenched bars.