Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream / Branagh, McNair, Kirchschlager; Abbado

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Claudio Abbado has a reputation as a fine Mendelssohn conductor, one that he earned in his recording of the complete symphony for DG. As so often happens, he as re-recorded the "Italian" Symphony only a few years later for another label, and this performance is fine, though not better than his earlier one. What may be more appealing for many listeners, however, is the coupling of the music Mendelssohn composed for Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. You've heard this before, even if you don't know it: one of the items is the famous "wedding march." In sum, this disc brings together the composer's most characteristic orchestral scores, so it's perfect for beginners or folks only wanting Mendelssohn's best. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

Overture, Op. 21
Incidental Music, Op.61: No. 1 Scherzo
Incidental Music, Op.61: No. 2 L'istesso Tempo: 'How now, spirit, whither wander you?'
Incidental Music, Op.61: Fairy March
Incidental Music, Op.61: No. 3 Song With Chorus
Incidental Music, Op.61: No. 4 Andante: 'What thou seest when thou dost wake?'
Incidental Music, Op.61: No. 5 Intermezzo. Allegro Aspassionato: 'This is thy negligence'
Incidental Music, Op.61: No. 7 Notturno
Incidental Music, Op.61: No. 8 Andante: 'And now I have the boy'
Incidental Music, Op.61: No. 9 Wedding March
Incidental Music, Op.61: Finale. Allegro Di Molto: 'Through the house give glimmering'
Symphony No. 4 In A major, Op. 90: I. Allegro Vivace
Symphony No. 4 In A major, Op. 90: II. Andante Con Moto
Symphony No. 4 In A major, Op. 90: III. Con Moto Moderato
IV. Salterello. Presto

Amazon.com essential recording

Claudio Abbado has a reputation as a fine Mendelssohn conductor, one that he earned in his recording of the complete symphony for DG. As so often happens, he as re-recorded the "Italian" Symphony only a few years later for another label, and this performance is fine, though not better than his earlier one. What may be more appealing for many listeners, however, is the coupling of the music Mendelssohn composed for Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. You've heard this before, even if you don't know it: one of the items is the famous "wedding march." In sum, this disc brings together the composer's most characteristic orchestral scores, so it's perfect for beginners or folks only wanting Mendelssohn's best. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Recording Level is Too Low.......2007-07-02

This is such a fine performance with talented artists. Sadly, as another reviewer mentioned I can't turn the volume up enough to even begin to hear the voices without getting blasted in the instrumental sections. This is to such as a degree as to render the CD useless. We have a decent system at home and the problem persists for all of our players, even when using headphones. I've only experienced this type of problem with 3 other CDs in my collection and this one is by far the worst. Maybe if you have Bang & Olufsen speakers and a 200 watt tube amplifier it's not a problem, but this mortal can't enjoy the disk.

Fine Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".......2004-01-02

Claudio Abbado, Berlin Philharmonic, Kenneth Branagh, Sylvia McNair and Angelika Kirchschlager are the main reasons why you should acquire this fine CD of excerpts from Mendelssohn's score for "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Branagh's eloquent acting is evident here again, as though he was a young Sir Laurence Olivier, providing a compelling reading of selected speeches from Shakespeare's play. Soprano Sylvia McNair and mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirschschlager are equally compelling to in their solos. Noted Mendelssohn interpreter Claudio Abbado leads the Berlin Philharmonic in a vibrant performance. Their performance of Mendelssohn's 4th "Italian" symphony is just as fine, though not nearly as revelatory as Abbado's earlier account on Deutsche Grammophon with the London Symphony Orchestra. There is a splendid CD to own if you wish to have a recording of some of Mendelssohn's most compelling orchestral music. However, I would not recommend it to those seeking the best recorded version of the 4th symphony. Yet Sony's sound engineers have produced among their finest recordings of Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic; only their classic recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony is better.

A rich, magical blend of narration and music.......2000-09-29

I have admired Kenneth Branagh's work since "Henry V" and particularly "Much Ado About Nothing"; I admit that seeing his name on the front of this CD was what led me to purchase it. Not the formidable talent of the other performers (soprano Sylvia McNair, mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager), not the renown of the Berlin Philharmonic and conductor Claudio Abbado. Not even Mendelssohn's music itself. I am happy to say that each and every one of these elements is as marvelous as Branagh's narrative performance -- speeches from Oberon, Titania, Robin Goodfellow (Puck) and various sprites and fairies interspersed with Mendelssohn's music -- and, taken as a whole, they combine to create as nearly flawless a CD as you will ever find. No, it's not "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in its entirety: the pairs of warring and confused lovers are touched on only incidentally, as when Oberon berates Puck for having put the love charm in the wrong Athenian's eyes. Call it "A Midsummer Night's Dream" from the woodland spirits' point of view. It's sublime. An extra perk: Arthur Rackham's wonderful, weedy, tangled woodland drawings gracing the front of the CD booklet. I only wish they had been reproduced in full color inside the booklet (which includes all the speeches and songs) -- they are black-and-white there. The only problem I have with this recording, which may be the fault of my stereo system, is that the balance between narration and music could have been better. When I say that I mean decibel level, not relative amount of narration versus music. It seemed to me that playing the music at a comfortable volume left the narration soft and a little difficult to hear; turn up the volume on Branagh's narration and the following music was disproportionately loud. As I said, it could be entirely the fault of my CD player, and it's certainly not enough to merit giving this CD any less than 5 stars. I should also mention that Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 in A Major on this CD is excellent too. Give this CD to a Shakespeare fan, a Branagh fan, or anybody who loves good classical music.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

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