Mendelssohn: Symphonies No. 3 & 4 Freiburger Barockorchester & Pablo Heras-Casado

• Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 - 1847): Symphonie Nr.3 „Schottische“, op.56, A minor:
• 1 I. Andante con moto - Allegro un poco agitato 16:11
• 2 II. Vivace non troppo 04:29
• 3 III. Adagio 09:45
• 4 IV. Allegro vivacissimo - Allegro maestoso assai 09:55
• Symphonie Nr.4 „Italienische“, op.90, A major:
• 5 I. Allegro vivace 10:29
• 6 II. Andante con moto 05:07
• 7 III. Con moto moderato 06:16
• 8 IV. Presto and Finale. Saltarello 05:20
• Total Runtime 01:07:32

Info for Mendelssohn: Symphonies No. 3 & 4

In later life, Mendelssohn always opposed the use of the terms ‘Scottish’ and ‘Italian’ for his symphonies in A minor and A major respectively, as if to emphasise their qualities as ‘pure’ music. Yet they were directly inspired by his European Grand Tour of 1829-32: from the gloomy ruins of Holyrood Abbey to the sun-drenched landscapes of Rome and Naples, his imagination fashioned masterpieces that have seldom been surpassed for their sense of orchestral colour, vividly brought out here by the period instruments of the Freiburger Barockorchester.

Freiburger Barockorchester
Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor

Pablo Heras-Casado
has achieved remarkable success conducting repertoire spanning from early music and historically informed performance to great symphonic and operatic literature as well as contemporary works. In great demand as guest conductor, Heras-Casado regularly appears with Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Staatskapelle Berlin, Münchner Philharmoniker, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, SWR Symphonieorchester, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Filarmonica della Scala, NHK Symphony Orchestra and many others. In North America, he is frequently working with the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. He has also conducted the Berliner and Wiener Philharmoniker, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony and The Mariinsky orchestras. He enjoys a long-term collaboration with Freiburger Barockorchester, featuring extensive touring and recording projects, most recently Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In summer 2022, he commenced a new partnership with Anima Eterna Brugge touring and recording Bruckner’s Symphonies on historical instruments.

Heras-Casado recently made a highly successful debut at the Bayreuther Festspiele conducting Wagner’s Parsifal and will reprise it in 2024. He enjoys a regular collaboration with Wiener Staatsoper, where he has conducted the Monteverdi trilogy (L’Orfeo, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria) in recent years. This season,he performs Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito and Ligeti’s Le Grande Macabre with Wiener Philharmoniker. In spring 2024, he makes his debut at the Opéra National de Paris conducting Mozart’s Così fan tutte. As Principal Guest Conductor of Teatro Real in Madrid, he recently completed a Ring Cycle across four consecutive seasons and performs Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in the 2023/24 season. He has also previously appeared at the Teatro alla Scala, Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Deutsche Oper in Berlin, The Metropolitan Opera in New York, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Festspiel Baden-Baden.

An extensive discography for harmonia mundi includes a developing series entitled ​‘Die Neue Romantik’, featuring music by Mendelssohn (the complete symphonies cycle), Schubert (his latest release with the Freiburger Barockorchester features Schubert symphonies No. 5 and 7 “unfinished”) and Schumann (complete concerti). Other releases on the label include a series of albums celebrating Beethoven’s 250th anniversary in 2020 (Freiburger Barockorchester), music of Manuel de Falla (Mahler Chamber Orchestra), Debussy (Philharmonia Orchestra), Schumann’s complete symphonies and Bartók (Münchner Philharmoniker), Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring alongside Péter Eötvös Alhambra (Orchestre de Paris and Isabelle Faust), a work he co-commissioned for the Granada Festival, for which he was Music Director between 2017 and 2019, as well as DVD releases of Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer at Teatro Real and Monteverdi’s Selva morale e spirituale with Balthasar-Neumann-Chor & Ensemble. A recipient of numerous awards, including two Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, two Diapason d’Or, and a Latin Grammy, he also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Decca and Sony Classical.

A dedicated educator, Heras-Casado makes a personal commitment to work with young musicians all over the world, regularly leading youth ensembles and projects, such as the Karajan Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker, Juilliard School of Music Orchestra and Juilliard415 ensemble, RCO Young, Escuela de Música Reina Sofia, Fundación Barenboim-Said, Joven Orquesta Nacional de España and Gustav Mahler Academy.

2021 Artist of the Year at the International Classic Music Awards, and Musical America’s 2014 Conductor of the Year, Heras-Casado holds the Medalla de Honor of the Rodriguez Acosta Foundation, Medalla de Andalucia 2019 and this region’s Ambassador Award. He is Honorary Ambassador and recipient of the Golden Medal of Merit by the Council of Granada, as well as Honorary Citizen of the Province of Granada, his hometown. In 2018 he is granted the title Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic.

Booklet for Mendelssohn: Symphonies No. 3 & 4