“Italian” Symphony

30 minutes. Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.

The “Italian” Symphony is one of Mendelssohn’s most popular orchestral works. He began composing it while touring Italy in 1831, when he was 22 years old. He wrote to friends and relatives about enjoying the climate and art but disdaining the concert music. Musicologists have offered many interpretations of the symphony, linking the musical ideas to specific Italian cities and scenes. This is arguably his happiest symphony, and Mendelssohn once described the Symphony as “blue sky in A major,” referring to Italy’s famous azure skies.

The symphony opens with a burst of sound and energy with repeated notes in the winds and soaring melodies in the strings. Mendelssohn expertly winds melody after melody, never letting the intensity and drive wane. The second movement is reverent and dusky, with melodies in the oboes, bassoons, and violas. Throughout the movement, the lower strings walk a bass line, adding to the processional feeling. A major-key melody in the clarinet breaks through the fog and brings a moment of sunshine but surrenders to the original theme. The third movement, a classic minuet and trio, weaves the strings in a lush tapestry. A militaristic, yet bucolic, fanfare motif in the brass and bassoons provides contrast. The final movement, frenetic and energetic, is explicitly titled “Saltarello,” although it is also evocative of another folk dance, the tarantella. At every moment, it feels like the music will spin out of control! This is one of the few symphonies that begins in a major key and ends in a minor key. It is Mendelssohn at his best – sparkling, singing, and splendid.

Here’s a performance by Gustavo Gimeno and the Concertgebouworkest.