Alto presents high-resolution digital remastered editions of Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s live recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra of Mendelssohn’s ‘Scottish’ and ‘Italian’ Symphonies together with the Hebrides Overture, recorded at the Barbican, London, in 2013 and 2014.
Both major works trace back to Mendelssohn’s travels of 1829–31. A visit to Holyrood Palace and to Fingal’s Cave on the Isle of Staffa during his 1829 tour of Scotland sowed the seeds of both the Hebrides Overture and the ‘Scottish’Symphony, though the latter was not completed until 1842, when Mendelssohn dedicated it to Queen Victoria.
By contrast, the sunnier ‘Italian’ Symphony took shape during his travels in Italy in 1830–31 and was first performed in London in 1833.
The extent of Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s repertoire is illustrated by the more than 250 recordings he has made for major record companies. His recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra include the complete symphonies of Mendelssohn and Schumann, recorded during three seasons of live performances from 2014–2016 to great acclaim.
