Composer: Felix Mendelssohn
Performer: Isabelle Faust
Orchestra: Freiburger Barockorchester
Conductor: Pablo Heras-Casado
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Catalogue: HMM902325
Release: 2017
Size: 1.2 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
01. I. Allegro molto appassionnato
02. II. Andante – Allegretto non troppo
03. III. Allegro molto vivace
04. Hebrides Overture, Op. 26
Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 107 ‘Reformation’
05. I. Andante. Allegro con fuoco
06. II. Allegro vivace
07. III. Andante
08. IV. Choral. “Ein fest Burg” – Andante con moto – Allegro vivace – Allegro maestoso
After the mystical ‘Hebrides’ Overture and the masterly ‘Reformation’ Symphony, Mendelssohn embarked on his second violin concerto. After a long gestation in which he polished the orchestration and meticulously revised the solo part, the work was finally premiered in Leipzig in 1845. From David to Joachim, virtuosos honed the violin part with the composer over successive revivals, leaving to posterity traces of their playing style: fingering, bowing and score markings. This precious heritage has been scrutinised by Isabelle, as she did for her Brahms Violin Concerto recording, as a previously unexploited expressive resource. Isabelle Faust, accompanied by the Freiburger Barockorchester, in top form, under the direction of Pablo Heras-Casado, offers us a miracle of purity and lyricism in a freshly-minted interpretation that fulfils Mendelssohn’s promise of ‘a concerto to make the angels rejoice in heaven’!