Bernstein Conducts Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, “Italian” (1/4)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Symphony No. 4 in A Minor, Opus 90. “Italian” (1/4) I. Allegro Vivace Conducted by: Leonard Bernstein Orchestra: New York Philharmonic (1953 New York Recording)
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23 comments
I love this piece.
When I listened this the first time (life in a wonderful theatre, with wonderful people with me) I fell in love with the Italian Symphony…Not 5 stars, but 50. Great version.
Thank you for uploading all 4 movements.
This is from a Barbie movie. Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses. It is a very cool movie and this music fits it perfectly.
Great recording , in terms of sound, for 1953!
I would NOT want to be a wind player in this recording. Those parts are hard without it racing by.
Deadly energy though. There is a reason why Bernstein is the man
I had that Toscanini version years ago. Really excellent, sadly now lost.
@JTmusicguy There’s a tarantella near the end of “The Nutcracker”, and in the Baryshnikov version it’s played slower than usual.
Karajan always conducts the best renditions.
There should be a contrast between this movt and the Saltarello. This movement should be distinct in every piece of every triplet, while the Saltarello should simply move in beat-units with the triplet subdivisions being nearly ornamental. It nearly moves in 1 (with four triplets per beat, or at least two if taken in two), while this movement is clearly in four.
Personally, I prefer the large scale classic period symphonies done HIP. But I think this orchestra possessed more balance in this performance than a lot of other attempts done without period instruments and techniques.
.…I prefer the Toscanini version, but about 1963 I heard this Bernstein version, and had to buy it immediately.….I was a youngster then.…
Excellent twine for soup
I WISH you could bottle up what’s in the first few bars of this piece… and let it loose forever.
Best on You Tube! I’ve listened to 4 other recordings before I found this! Brilliant! Thanks ~
L:D
Great Mendelssohn, Great Bernstein!!!
FANTASTIC!
Thank you for posting.
This piece is so catchy. It is also in my opinion one of the greatest pieces ever written. I LOVE IT
I believe the correct recording year is 1958
I have listened to 23 *yes 23 i have no life * youtubes of this and this is this the BEST
at 9:25 there is a strange noise, as if somethings falling down … well it REALLY does no harm to this wonderpul piece of music … but anyways, that’s YOUTUBE
It only makes sense to take this piece at a faster paced speed. Mendelssohn was incredibly excited when he wrote this piece after arriving in Italy. To give further example, here’s a direct quote: The Italian symphony is making great progress. It will be the jolliest piece I have ever done, especially the last movement. I have not found anything for the slow movement yet, and I think that I will save that for Naples.
He was slow towards the end of his career, but this is towards the beginning. For most of his career, the rule for Bernstein was that he took fast music faster and slow music slower.
There are more famous, and I think better renditions of this Italian though. I think Karajan, Klemperer, and my favorite, Toscanini, is great. Have you heard them or others?