Mendelssohn - Symphony 4 [Bruggen/ Orchestra Of The 18th Century]These two Symphonies were recorded in 1990, they are actually live recordings, but you wouldn't know from the performances, Bruggen here has created some lithe readings, the quicksilver Mendelssohn ideally suited to a light and fast measure.
The booklet cover, again i must mention as before, it's not merely just a pic of Frans Bruggen [by Kees Hageman], but a nice study, well thought out and created, with pleasant lighting and furniture, it's touches like this, that make a very good disc great.
For me the last movement, the Saltarello Presto was fantastic, basically the Saltarello was an Italian dance, saltare meaning 'to jump' in Italian, a fast triple meter with a peculiar leap to it, and it certainly works in this last movement, it starts with fleeting strings, and then those almost tongue fluttering flutes [0:07+], and it's these flutes that steal the show, this Saltarello theme is taken up by the woodwind and the flutes [1:14-1:35], it's very breathtaking, a lovely virtuoso section on strings interspersed with woodwind and flutes/piccolos is incredible [2:00-2:22], and then comes a middle section for strings alone [2:22+], the lower strings keep the beat, while the violins seems to be split up into left and right, and play against each other, eventually the woodwind and flutes come back in [2:52+], and it gets really exciting and virtuoso as strings and woodwind fight it out [3:01+], as the music develops into forte, it's the brass that eventually play the Saltarello [3:28+], with timpani in the background, sounds quite military, but the arguing strings come back [3:49+], and it's those fleeting strings that copy the tongue fluttering flutes right to the end in a dazzling display [4:05+], it's almost as if you have to take a breather at the end, it's truly a whirlwind of a Symphony, a wonderful finale.
Here's Felipe Izcaray conducting the last movement on YouTube.
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