account
basket
Challenge Records Int. logo
Complete Symphonies vol. 2: Symphony nos.1 & 3
Felix Mendelssohn

The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra / Jan Willem de Vriend

Complete Symphonies vol. 2: Symphony nos.1 & 3

Price: € 12.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917264128
Catnr: CC 72641
Release date: 20 June 2014
Buy
1 SACD
✓ in stock
€ 12.95
Buy
 
Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917264128
Catalogue number
CC 72641
Release date
20 June 2014

"3*** ["].. These are respectable performances, but no more than that.""

BBC Music Magazine, 01-12-2014
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
Press
EN
NL
DE

About the album

What is particularly amazing about the Mendelssohn symphonies is the fact that he is both harking back to old masters like Bach, and, as a child of his time, looking ahead. Especially his Italian and Scottish symphonies are pointing at the future, since Mendelssohn lived in the era of discovery, of der Wanderer. Goethe came up with his jungen Werther, a guy who went away to discover the world and upon returning nothing looked the same. And that is exactly what you can hear in his music: astonishment, translated into music using harmonies we maybe already knew but which in his hands sounded completely fresh and new. Having said that, you can also hear an old-school musical approach. Mendelssohn sometimes uses fugues or chorales we know from older styles. He was the first to bring back those trustworthy techniques – and that, in itself, was also new.
Een uitstekende uitvoering, gespeeld met gevoel voor drama en geestdrift en met een volle rijke klank
Dit is het tweede album van dirigent Jan Willem de Vriend en The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra met muziek van Mendelssohn. Het eerste album de Symfonie nr. 2 Lobgesang, was een succes en ook van deze uitvoering met de symfonieën 1 en 3 van Mendelssohn maken de musici weer een waar luisterfeest. "The first symphony has never sounded so harsh, so exciting, so loaded and with so many contrasts." Crescendo, oktober 2014.

Het fascinerende en ook unieke aan de symfonieën van Mendelssohn is het feit, dat hij zowel naar de oude meesters, zoals Bach, luistert, maar ook als kind van zijn tijd naar voren kijkt. Vooral zijn Italiaanse en Schotse symfonieën verwijzen naar de toekomst, dat komt omdat Mendelssohn in een tijd van ontdekkingen en verkenningen leefde, de tijd van der Wanderer. Goethe schreef zijn jungen Werther, de jongeman die eropuit trok, de wijde wereld in, om die te ontdekken en om erachter te komen, dat bij zijn terugkeer al het gewone nieuw was. En dat is nu precies wat in deze muziek van Mendelssohn doorklinkt: verbazing, vertaald in muziek vol harmonieën, die we misschien allang kenden, maar die in zijn handen compleet fris en nieuw klinken. Maar evenzogoed klinkt de muzikale benadering van de oude muziek erin door. Mendelssohn gebruikte soms fuga's of koralen die we van de oudere muziekstijlen kennen. Hij was de eerste die deze betrouwbare technieken terugbracht, en dat op zich, was al nieuw. De vraag is dan ook waarom Mendelssohn niet vaker gespeeld wordt.

Jan Willem de Vriend is sinds 2006 chef dirigent bij het Orkest van het Oosten, in het buitenland bekend als The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, in Enschede. Vanaf de zomer van 2015 is hij ook vaste dirigent van het Residentie Orkest in Den Haag en gastdirigent bij het Orquestra Simfonica de Barcelone I Nacional Catalunya. Meteen bij zijn aantreden als dirigent in Enschede trok hij met het orkest de aandacht met de opvallende Eerste Symfonie van Mahler, in de zogenaamde Hamburgse versie. De lovende ontvangst (Absolutely a must – The Grammophone) leidde tot uitnodigingen bij het Amsterdamse Concertgebouw Orkest en veel orkesten in het buitenland. De Vriend is een enthousiast promotor van de klassieke muziek.
Das Faszinierende und auch einzigartige an den Sinfonien Mendelsohns ist, dass er sowohl auf die alten Meister wie Bach zurück als auch - als ein Kind seiner Zeit - in die Zukunft blickt. Besonders seine Italienische und seine Schottische Sinfonie weisen in die Zukunft, da Mendelssohn in einer Zeit des Entdeckens und Erkundens lebte, eine Zeit der Wanderer. Goethe schrieb seinen Jungen Werther, ein Mann, der auszog, um die Welt zu erkunden und nach seiner Rückkehr alles Gewohnte neu war.Und genau dies kann man in der Musik hören: Erstaunen, übersetzt in die Musik mit Harmonien die wir vielleicht schon kannten, aber die in seinen Händen komplett frisch und neu klangen. Und ebenso erklingt der Anspruch der Alten Schule. Mendelssohn verwendet manchmal Fugen und Choräle, wie wir sie vom Alten Stil her kennen. Er war der Erste, der diese Techniken wieder zurück in die Komposition brachte - und auch das war irgendwie neu.

Artist(s)

Jan Willem de Vriend

Jan Willem de Vriend, designated “a godsend from the Netherlands” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, is driven by the pioneering spirit of historically informed perfomance practice. As music director of the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, which he founded in 1982, he specialised in repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviving a wealth of rarely heard works through historically informed performances on modern instruments, praised by Gramophone magazine for their “technical finesse and a lively feeling for characterization”. An award-winner for his creative contribution to classical music, Jan Willem de Vriend has more than 50,000 followers on Spotify and is in demand as a conductor around the world, appearing regularly with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest...
more
Jan Willem de Vriend, designated “a godsend from the Netherlands” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, is driven by the pioneering spirit of historically informed perfomance practice. As music director of the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, which he founded in 1982, he specialised in repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviving a wealth of rarely heard works through historically informed performances on modern instruments, praised by Gramophone magazine for their “technical finesse and a lively feeling for characterization”.
An award-winner for his creative contribution to classical music, Jan Willem de Vriend has more than 50,000 followers on Spotify and is in demand as a conductor around the world, appearing regularly with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Belgian National Orchestra, Tonhalle Zurich, Orchestre National de Lyon, Bergen Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, the symphony orchestras of Netherlands Radio and Hessischer Rundfunk (Frankfurt Radio Symphony), Melbourne Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic. He is Principal Conductor Designate of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Stuttgart Philharmonic and Orchestre National de Lille, and former Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya and the Brabant Orchestra.
For the Challenge Classics label, de Vriend and the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra have recorded the complete Mendelssohn symphonies and all Beethoven’s symphonies and concertos with, among others, pianist Hannes Minnaar and violinist Liza Ferschtman. De Vriend’s interpretation of the Symphony No 7 prompted Classic FM to admire “a bounding flair that does real justice to the composer’s capacity for joy”. A further landmark of his recorded catalogue is his complete recording of the Schubert symphonies with the Residentie Orkest Den Haag.
De Vriend’s collaborative spirit is equally evident in his work for the stage, notably with opera director Eva Buchmann and Combattimento Consort Amsterdam. In addition to works by Monteverdi, Haydn, Handel and Telemann, their productions in Europe and the USA have included staged versions of Bach’s ‘Hunting’ and ‘Coffee’ Cantatas at the Bachfest Leipzig, and operas by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Cherubini, among them Mozart’s Don Giovanni und Rossini’s La gazzetta, both toured in Switzerland. De Vriend has also conducted operatic productions in Amsterdam (with the Nederlandse Reisopera), Barcelona, Strasbourg, Lucerne, Schwetzingen and Bergen.

less

The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra

The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra is based in Enschede, in the province of Overijssel. Performing at an international level, as evidenced by its highly acclaimed CDs and invitations for international tours, the orchestra is firmly rooted in society. Jan Willem de Vriend has been its artistic director and chief conductor since 2006. He will be succeeded by Ed Spanjaard in 2017. Under De Vriend’s leadership, the orchestra has expanded its repertoire to cover music from four centuries. Its use of period instruments in the Classical repertoire gives the orchestra a distinctive and highly individual character. The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra performs amongst others in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Enschede, Zwolle and Deventer. In addition, it has made successful tours of the United States, Spain and...
more
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra is based in Enschede, in the province of Overijssel. Performing at an international level, as evidenced by its highly acclaimed CDs and invitations for international tours, the orchestra is firmly rooted in society.
Jan Willem de Vriend has been its artistic director and chief conductor since 2006. He will be succeeded by Ed Spanjaard in 2017. Under De Vriend’s leadership, the orchestra has expanded its repertoire to cover music from four centuries. Its use of period instruments in the Classical repertoire gives the orchestra a distinctive and highly individual character.
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra performs amongst others in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Enschede, Zwolle and Deventer. In addition, it has made successful tours of the United States, Spain and England and it often works with the Dutch National Touring Opera Company. In its home town Enschede, the orchestra builds on a symphonic tradition of more than 80 years, and it is known as one of the most modern and entrepreneurial orchestras in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra created a number of ensembles, such as a chamber orchestra, the Baroque Academy of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra (BANSO) and various chamber music ensembles. The orchestra’s commitment to expanding its social relevance is also reflected in the large number of projects in which education is a key element.
The orchestra has worked with distinguished conductors, such as its former chief conductor Jaap van Zweden, Vasily Petrenko, Edo de Waart, Claus Peter Flor and Tan Dun. It also has accompanied many celebrated soloists, including Gidon Kremer, Ronald Brautigam, Natalia Gutman, Charlotte Margiono, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Thomas Zehetmair.

less

Composer(s)

Felix Mendelssohn

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn is often compared to Mozart. Both of them were child prodigies, both had a talented sister and they both died at a young age. Mendelssohn, who as a child also painted wrote poetry, was born in small family which converted to christianity from judaism. As a composer he preferred looking back, rather than forward: his main examples were Bach, Handel and Mozart. It was Mendelssohn who retrieved Bach from oblivion and pushed for a revival of his music, which still lasts today. One century after its premier, Mendelsson performed the St Matthew Passion for the second...
more

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period.

Mendelssohn is often compared to Mozart. Both of them were child prodigies, both had a talented sister and they both died at a young age. Mendelssohn, who as a child also painted wrote poetry, was born in small family which converted to christianity from judaism. As a composer he preferred looking back, rather than forward: his main examples were Bach, Handel and Mozart. It was Mendelssohn who retrieved Bach from oblivion and pushed for a revival of his music, which still lasts today. One century after its premier, Mendelsson performed the St Matthew Passion for the second time ever, in 1829.

Three years, earlier, on his 17th, he had already composed his masterfully overture A midsummer night's dream op. 21, based on Shakespeare's play. Today, it is still considered as one of the absolute masterpieces in all of the orchestra reperoire. His Violin Concerto op. 64 belongs to the most beautiful works of the 19th century as well. During his travels through Europe, he wrote his brilliant Italian Symphony, Scottish Symphony and the overture The Hebrides.

Although Mendelssohn had a prosperous career, his weak physique made him emotionally vulnerable. The death of his favourite sister Fanny became fatal: Mendelssohn died in the same year, at the age of 38.


less

Press

3*** ["].. These are respectable performances, but no more than that."
BBC Music Magazine, 01-12-2014

"The first symphony has never sounded so harsh, so exciting, so loaded and with so many contrasts."
Crescendo, 09-10-2014

"A heartfelt portrait of Mendelssohn"
De Volkskrant, 10-9-2014

This is an excellent performance, rich in sound while clean of line
Music Web International, 15-8-2014

Friends of powerful and straight lined interpretations will get their money's worth.
MDR Take 5, 14-8-2014

"The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra under conductor Jan Willem de Vriend succeeds in finding the drama and wit in Mendelssohn's symphonies."
Words&Music, 03-8-2014

"The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra under conductor Jan Willem de Vriend succeeds in finding the drama and wit in Mendelssohn's symphonies."
Words & Music (blog), 03-8-2014

Play album Play album

Often bought together with..

Franz Schubert
The Complete Symphonies Vol. 2 Symphony No.1, D.82 / Symphony No.3 D.200 / Symphony No.8 D.759
Residentie Orkest The Hague / Jan Willem de Vriend
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphonies nos. 4 & 5
Jan Willem de Vriend / The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphonies nos. 4 & 6 (Complete Symphonies vol.1)
Jan Willem de Vriend / The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra

You might also like..

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concertos Nos. 21 & 9 | Rondo for Piano and Orchestra
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra | Dejan Lazić | Jan Willem de Vriend
Franz Schubert
The Complete Symphonies (4 CD-set)
Residentie Orkest The Hague | Jan Willem de Vriend
Robert Schumann
Schumann Symphonies 3 & 4
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra | Jan Willem de Vriend
Robert Schumann
Schumann Symphonies 1 & 2
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra | Jan Willem de Vriend
Ludwig van Beethoven
The Complete Piano Concertos (reissue)
Hannes Minnaar | Jan Willem de Vriend | The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 14
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra | Dejan Lazić | Jan Willem de Vriend
Franz Schubert
The Complete Symphonies Vol. 4 Symphony No. 5 D. 485 | Symphony No. 6 D. 589
Residentie Orkest The Hague / Jan Willem de Vriend
Eric Vloeimans, Martin Fondse
Evensong
Eric Vloeimans / The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra / Jurjen Hempel
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Georg Friedrich Händel
Arias and Overtures
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra / Jan Willem de Vriend / Mari Eriksmoen
Ludwig van Beethoven
Complete Symphonies & Concertos (box set)
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra / Jan Willem de Vriend