Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847)
Sinfonia No. 9 in C major, MWV N 9, ‘Swiss Symphony’ (completed 12 March 1823)
Overture in C major, Op. 24, ‘Nocturno’, MWV P 1
(Version for 11 wind instruments, dated: Berlin, 27 June 1826)
Sinfonia No. 8 in D major, MWV N 8, version for large orchestra (30 November 1822 to late February 1823)
L’Orfeo Barockorchestra
Michi Gaigg, conductor
Leipzig Street No. 3, 7 July
in the garden, 1826.
My dearest sister!
I wish I were a zander; for apart from the good taste, which I am very keen on and which is innate to all zanders, you also have the privilege of bathing all day long, and the water is 22°. Then you need not tailor your expressions, your courtly manners, nor your overtures; in short, they are happy creatures, compared to me …
(Felix to Fanny Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Bad Doberan)
From these lines, we can glimpse just how much effort composing cost Mendelssohn. As performers and as an audience, we consider ourselves as fortunate as the zander!
