Felix Mendelssohn

When Felix Mendelssohn's letters began to be published after his death, they were immediately recognized for their outstanding literary merit as well as the invaluable access they provide to the composer's life and thoughts. In their charm, humor and rich depiction of musical life in nineteenth century Europe they are unsurpassed. While notable English translations of selected Mendelssohn letters appears soon after the first German publications, Victorian custom necessitated the expurgation of much material deemed indiscreet, and often added an element of formality which robbed these letters of much of their freshness and vitality. The extraordinary letters contained in this volume, many of which have never before been published in English, span the composer's lifetime beginning when he was twelve years of age. They are filled with details about his musical life, evocative descriptions of his travels in Italy, Scotland, France and Germany, and of his many meetings with the musical, literary, and artistic luminaries of his age such as Giacomo Rossini and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Many of the letters to his family have come to light only recently and provide a particularly intimate and lively portrait of the composer. Accompanying these entertaining letters are some of his remarkable watercolors and drawings of the places he visited.

In 1832, the Royal Philharmonic Society of London honoured the young German composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy with several commissions. One of the works composed as a result was the A major symphony, the "Italian", based on Mendelssohn's experiences in Italy in 1830 and 1831. The work was premiered in 1833, conducted by the composer. Today, the Italian Symphony has a firm place in the canon of classical masterworks, though at its premiere and both the following performances, the work was not entirely positively received. Mendelssohn himself was unhappy with it. In 1834, he revised the last three movements, but did not complete this revision. To this day, the early version of the "Italian" is the one played everywhere, whilst the revised version has remained to a large extent unknown. Bärenreiter's critical new edition, edited by Christopher Hogwood, includes all the performance material for the complete version of 1833, together with the last three movements in the composer's revised version. Conductors can now choose between the early and revised versions; the revised one includes the first movement from the early version. - Publisher.