Mendelssohn: Paulus, Elias, Symphonies Nos 1-5 (7CD Set)
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FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn: Paulus, Elias, Symphonies Nos 1-5 (7CD Set)
Christiane Karg, Elsa Benoit, Werner Güra, Julia Kleiter, Andrè Schuen, etc / Gewandhausorchester, Andris Nelsons
[ Deutsche Grammophon / 7 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Friday 27 March 2026
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Renowned conductor Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester devote themselves to Felix Mendelssohn's complete symphonies and oratorios - recorded in the city most closely associated with the composer. Leipzig was a central place of activity for Mendelssohn, who, as Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester, had a decisive influence on its artistic profile and continues to contribute to the orchestra's identity to this day. "Mendelssohn and Leipzig are inextricably linked. The sound and style of the Gewandhausorchester are part of this music. I am thinking not only of its elegance and brightness, but also of its melancholic moments," says the current Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons. "The Gewandhausorchester is not only one of the largest, but simply one of the best orchestras in the world," writes the Hamburger Abendblatt.
This 7-CD set presents Mendelssohn's entire symphonic cycle as well as his two completed oratorios, "Elijah" and "St. Paul." A special highlight is the first complete recording of "St. Paul" to appear in the DG catalog. Together with the MDR Radio Choir and a top-class cast of soloists, including Golda Schultz, Andrè Schuen, and Georg Zeppenfeld, they bring Mendelssohn's musical brilliance to life with passion and a deep historical understanding.
"This is a wonderful collection, and a welcome surprise given DG's recent generally recommendable set of the mature Mendelssohn symphonies with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Aside from the significant extra content offered by Andris Nelsons (the great oratorios), we're offered two approaches to Mendelssohn that couldn't be less alike. Take the Scottish Symphony, Nézet-Séguin lean and animated, including the first-movement exposition repeat (which Nelsons doesn't observe), Nelsons taking full advantage of his orchestra's unique tonal properties (it was Mendelssohn's own at one time), mellow yet transparent, and more alert to detail than a major Mendelssohnian predecessor at the Gewandhaus, the excellent Kurt Masur, twice recorded in Leipzig in the complete cycle (the later version for Teldec)....A Mendelssohn feast from Andris Nelsons - the symphonies plus major oratorios - and a set that draws on a deep immersion in the composer's voice." Gramophone Editor's Choice June 26
"Tempi are brisk, though never rushed. It's the phrasing, elastic and full of dynamic light and shade, that brings these accounts to life...Especially welcome is Deutsche Grammophon's first recording of Paulus (St Paul). Nelsons ferrets out the drama in Elias's diffident relative, and if Georg Zeppenfeld is a little grumbly as the pugnacious apostle, there's a radiant account of the soprano solos by Julia Kleiter." The Guardian
Tracks:
Paulus, Op. 36
Elijah, Op. 70
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 11
Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 52 'Lobgesang'
Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 'Scottish'
Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 'Italian'
Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 107 'Reformation'
