Search - Felix Mendelssohn, Andre [conductor] Previn, London Symphony Orchestra :: A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Felix Mendelssohn, Andre [conductor] Previn, London Symphony Orchestra
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Genre: Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (14) - Disc #1


     
?

Larger Image

CD Details


Similar CDs


Similarly Requested CDs

 

CD Reviews

Enchanting performance of magic music
Gontroppo | Bathurst, NSW Australia | 01/21/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Have you had the opportunity to hear Mendelssohn's music performed with the Shakespeare play? We went to a performance where veteran Shakespearean actors, husband and wife John Bell and Anna Volska, acted every single part in the play, while the Sydney Opera and Ballet Orchestra performed the music. [It took about 2 minutes to adjust to a cast of 2!]Some people have called it "Great Music for a Silly Play," but I think both play and music are superb. By the way, it is not true that Mendelssohn wrote the music at the age of 17: he did write the overture then (which is an amazing feat), but the rest was written in his maturity.This recording does *not* feature the play, too, but it is one of my favourites. It is one of the earliest CDs we bought, and it is terrific that it is still available.The music is superb, and the performances of the orchestra, soloists and children's choir are top notch. This is one of the best pieces of Nineteenth Century Music. You may find that you play it more frequently than most CDs in your collection.Highly recommended."
Quite simply, the best Midsummer Nights Dream anywhere
Santa Fe Listener | 08/02/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This EMI recording came out in the late 1970s, and quite simply, no one else has come close to capturing the sheer beauty and quicksilver lightness of Mendelssohn's scoring. Andre Previn and his London forces have done a masterful job. One of those discs that should never be allowed to go out of print."
Great performance of great music.
D. R. Schryer | Poquoson, VA United States | 07/29/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mendelssohn's music for A Midsummer Night's Dream is a masterpiece -- perhaps his greatest composition. Although the overture was written when Mendelssohn was 17 and the rest of the incidental music was written during his early 30s, the music blends together seamlessly and conveys a uniquely magical atmosphere. Unfortunately, few conductor's fully capture this fairy-like atmosphere, but Andre Previn does. The only conductor who compared with Previn in this music was the late Peter Maag, but Maag recorded only excerpts of this music, whereas Previn presents the complete score. Other pluses of this recording are the excellent singing (in English), both by the sopranos and by the children's choir. This is an outstanding CD is every respect and no lover of classical music should miss it."