Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 11 - by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 11 by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

Performed Sunday, November 10th, 2024 | Ent Center for the Arts

Conductor: Thomas Wilson
Audio/Video: Michael Lascuola
Program Notes: Jacob Pope

That Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 1 premiered when he was just 15 years old would be impressive enough; in truth, Mendelssohn had composed twelve other symphonies between the ages of 12 and 14 before completing what would later be called his "Symphony No. 1."

Today's piece distinguishes itself from those earlier works as Mendelssohn's first symphony to call for the use of woodwinds and brass. It is also a markedly more confident and mature work, leaving those dozen, earlier "string symphonies" to be largely forgotten until after Mendelssohn's death.

Felix's prodigiousness is hardly surprising: the Mendelssohn family was enormously influential, with access to some of the best musical training available at the time. Felix's Symphony No. 1 premiered at a private celebration in honor of Felix's sister, Fanny's, 19th birthday, where members of the elite royal orchestra attended to perform the work, according to music theorists A. B. Marx and Heinrich Dorn.

The piece begins by dropping the listener directly into the middle of the action. While the piece as a whole has clear roots in the music of Mozart and Beethoven, the introduction's use of minor key pushes a unique sense of urgency rather than tragedy (as Mozart might) or turbulence (as Beethoven often did). Listen especially for a long, sustained note in the horns, quiet in volume but full of expectation, which signals a transition into the final section of the first movement.

The winds take up the melody for large portions of the second movement. This movement provides the closest thing to a breath of calm before plunging back into the frenetic energy of the third movement - ostensibly a minuet, but with considerably more drama than that courtly dance would normally embody. Here one can listen for a brief, chant-like trio section in the winds, before ominous timpani triplets demand we return to the angst that also typifies the fiery finale of this work, being performed nearly 200 years to the day after its premiere.