Search - Felix [1] Mendelssohn, Primavera Chamber Ensemble :: Mendelssohn: Octet; Quintet No. 2

A sparkling new group excels in Mendelssohn

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 05/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can find little information about the Primavera Chamber Ensemble, but I believe they are a London group founded in 1986. In any event, they are new to me, and so I was amazed by the excellence of this CD, which contains the best Mendelssohn Octet I've ever encountered. What sets this performance apart is that the Primavera sound like a true string ensemble, not a casual gathering of players each trying to stand out. They concentrate on complete unanimity, careful balance, and exact intonaiton.



Added to these virtues, they play in the infectious, mercurial spirit of early Mendelssohn--the Octet comes from the fairy world of A Midsummer Night's Dream. By comparsion, other performances that I've heard over the years feel ragged, over-stated, and cumbersome. The filler is Mendelssohn's String Quintet #2, not the masterpiece that the Octet is but a fine work that the Primavera also play very engagingly."