The novelty of this recording lies in two qualities. First is its roots in the historical-instrument movement, in the presence of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski. They don't appear to be using actual period instruments from the early 19th century, but with a total of just over 40 musicians this is a lean set of Mendelssohn performances without a doubt. The second unusual quality is the presence of Mendelssohn violin concertos in the plural. Many listeners may be unaware of the ...
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The novelty of this recording lies in two qualities. First is its roots in the historical-instrument movement, in the presence of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski. They don't appear to be using actual period instruments from the early 19th century, but with a total of just over 40 musicians this is a lean set of Mendelssohn performances without a doubt. The second unusual quality is the presence of Mendelssohn violin concertos in the plural. Many listeners may be unaware of the earlier item, the Violin Concerto in D major that rounds out the album. It was composed in 1822, when Mendelssohn was 13, and it stands apart even from his other early works: except for the very Mozartian slow movement it seems to have been an attempt to master the virtuoso idiom of the French violin school of Giovanni Battista Viotti and his successors. With its legato yet flashy lines it doesn't sound much like Mendelssohn at all. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and...
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