Mendelssohn: The Complete Symphonies Nos.3 & 5

Director Sir András adds the role of soloist to his duties for the evening’s first work – Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No.2. Composed for the Birmingham Music Festival of 1837, its quality lies in the role of the pianist as the central protagonist in a rhapsodic ensemble drama. It is followed by Symphony No.5, composed in 1830. Mendelssohn first performed Bach’s St Matthew Passion in 1829, so it is perhaps no surprise that the symphony he began shortly after is steeped in the atmosphere of the Reformation. The programme concludes with the _ Scottish_ Symphony, which is published as his third but was in fact the last which Mendelssohn would complete. Its origins lie in the same 1829 grand tour that inspired The Hebrides Overture and Italian Symphony, and while its ‘Scottishness’ is much debated, the work reveals an artist whose enduring appeal lies in his carefully wrought balance of the old and novel.