Jonathan Bloxham tells us about the inspiring imagery within Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.4.
Mendelssohn was heavily influenced by his travels in Italy when composing Symphony No.4. What aspects of Italian culture would you say come across most vividly?
Mendelssohn was not only inspired to compose on his trip to Italy but also to paint some incredible watercolours and draw detailed sketches. In his art you can see the architecture of Italy, always a sense of Mediterranean warmth and views of the inviting open countryside – and I would say this is exactly the images that we hear in the music too! We also have impressions of solemn religious processions he saw in Rome in the slow movement and then a strident Neapolitan saltarello in the finale!
In his art you can see the architecture of Italy, always a sense of Mediterranean warmth and views of the inviting open countryside - and I would say this is exactly the images that we hear in the music too!
As LMP’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, what inspired you to programme this selection of pieces?
The genesis of concert programmes can vary wildly! In this case I have been wanting to bring the wonderful pianist Louis Schwizgebel to LMP for a long time – and I’m thrilled we finally found a date that worked. He is a brilliant interpreter of Schumann and so that seemed a natural choice and the Piano Concerto is our centrepiece in this programme. Mendelssohn is always great to perform alongside Schumann. Despite being close colleagues their sound worlds are so fantastically different. There is historic interest here too, as not only did Mendelssohn conduct many of his colleague’s works with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, he also collaborated many times with the wonderful pianist and composer Clara Wieck – even before her marriage to Schumann.
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