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program notes
Symphony No. 4 in A Major,“ Italian”
Felix Mendelssohn
Born in Hamburg, Germany, February 3, 1809; died in Leipzig, Germany, November 4, 1847
“ This is Italy! And now has begun what I have always thought … to be the supreme joy in life. And I am loving it. Today was so rich that now, in the evening, I must collect myself a little, and so I am writing to you to thank you, dear parents, for having given me all this happiness …”
Thus the 21-year-old Felix Mendelssohn wrote his family on October 10, 1830 after arriving in Venice. He did well to remember to thank his parents, for it was their wealth that had made possible this second installment of his Grand Tour of Europe. The previous year had taken him to the British Isles and sown the seeds for his“ Scottish” Symphony; his journeys in and around Venice, Florence, Rome and Naples from October 1830 to July 1831 would inspire his other most popular symphony, the sunlit“ Italian.”
Although he found much in the Italian culture that offended his fastidious German soul, the young composer threw himself into his Italian experience with gusto, not only making dutiful pilgrimages
The BSO to all the great museums and churches but also reveling in Rome’ s pre-Lenten carnival season and taking long hikes in the countryside. Soon he began work on a new symphony inspired by this captivating land. But possessed with good looks and a charming personality, he made little progress on it; as he confessed in another letter home, he had so many calling cards stuck in his mirror that he need never spend an evening alone.
After returning to Germany, however, the“ Italian” Symphony began to take shape during the winter of 1832, spurred on by a commission from the London Philharmonic Society. But despite its air of spontaneity and effortlessness, the symphony cost Mendelssohn a great deal of sweat. Even after its highly successful premiere by the London Philharmonic on May 13, 1833, under his own baton, he continued to anguish over it. Ultimately, it was not published until after his death at 38. Mendelssohn left behind instructions for its improvement, but fortunately, nobody has ever implemented them.
First movement: With its upwardleaping theme for violins above throbbing woodwinds, the opening of“ Italian” is one of the easiest to remember in the symphonic canon. It’ s an irresistible musical expression of youthful high spirits and sheer joy. Clarity and lightness mark the orchestration of one of Mendelssohn’ s finest scores, in which exactly the right color mixture is found for each mood. A rhythmically vigorous new tune delays its appearance until the development section, where it becomes the subject of a lively string fugue— Mendelssohn certainly had not worshipped J. S. Bach in vain!
The slower second movement in D minor is a masterpiece of atmosphere and scene painting. It was apparently inspired by a religious procession Mendelssohn witnessed in Naples, and the constant“ walking bass” line— or at this tempo, call it a“ jogging” bass— carries the processional feeling. Above it, the haunting timbres of oboes, bassoons and violas introduce a grave and lovely melody. When the violins succeed them, they are partnered by two flutes weaving a cool, beguiling obbligato melody above. At midpoint, clarinets offer a flowing, heartfelt new theme. Throughout, a wailing motive, rising and falling a half step, suggests the cries of the pilgrims. The procession gradually fades into the distance.
Instead of following Beethoven’ s pattern of an earthy scherzo third movement, Mendelssohn harkens back to an earlier age for a very Classical minuet. But the string writing is more lush and the sentiment stronger than in Mozart’ s minuets, and the trio section with its suave horn and bassoon parts has a warm nobility. Here the composer seems to be thinking more of Germany than Italy.
Italy and the spirit of the Roman carnival return in the vivacious finale, based on the Italian leaping dance, the saltarello. In an unusual choice, this is a minormode( A minor) conclusion to a work that began in major. But Mendelssohn had the gift for writing very light-hearted music in minor keys— remember his Violin Concerto in E minor. And indeed high spirits and nonstop energy propel this dance to its whirling conclusion.
Instrumentation: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright © 2017
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