Search - Felix [1] Mendelssohn, Barry Wordsworth, London Symphony Orchestra :: Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4; A Midsummer Night's Dream

Loving

David Saemann | 09/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Barry Wordsworth is one of my favorite conductors. He's not a high tension wizard like Gergiev, or an iconoclastic fiddler with scores like Thielemann. Rather, he tends to find just tempos and fine balances, and conveys them with a great deal of warmth. This album with the LSO highlights his strenghts. He also made a fine alubm of Delius with this orchestra, so the beauty of the current CD is not surprising. Throughout the LSO's playing lives up to its reputation as one of the world's best orchestras. The strings are warm and the winds and brass are elegant and beautifully balanced. With the exception of the third movement of the Symphony, which is a little slower than usual but never ungainly, I just sat back and revelled in the beautiful sonorities on this disc. The Hebrides is at least as good as on the classic LSO recording with Peter Maag. The Midsummer Night's Dream music is full toned but lithe, with an especially luxurious version of the Wedding March. As for the Symphony, it is just exquisite, so much warmer than Abbado's DG recording of it with the same orchestra. The sound engineering is excellent, too. If you have enjoyed Wordsworth's discs of Mozart and Haydn for Naxos, this CD is an excellent place to go next."