The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (2005)

For a cost-cutter album of Felix Mendelssohn's evergreen Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, and his brilliant incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61, this CD is a remarkably good deal, and newcomers to these essential Romantic works would do well to snap it up on sight. The vivid performance of the concerto by virtuoso violinist Leland Chen and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, under Jane Glover, is transparent in line and crystal clear in all details, and listeners will be hard-pressed to find a more beautifully played or better sounding recording at the budget price. Similarly, the recording of A Midsummer Night's Dream sparkles with bright timbres and scintillating rhythms, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra radiates light and warmth in its full-bodied ensemble sound, so the music comes across with absolute clarity and rich textures that are almost palpable in their immediacy. Originally released in 1996, this disc in the Tring's Royal Philharmonic Collection audiophile series should find a place in any beginner's growing collection and be equally welcome in many connoisseurs' libraries.

Review:
Review by Windsurfer March 30, 2006
I'm cheating here - this review pertains only to the Midummer Night's Dream. I've not listened to the concerto. I have so many recordings of this by "superstar" artists and have heard it so many times that I have no real enthusiasm for doing so. The Midsummer Night's Dream is another story!
I've listened to this 3 times now. It's a delightful performance. Unfortunately, it is not the complete incidental music. The excerpts include: Overture, Scherzo, Nocturne, Intermezzo, Wedding March, second Intermezzo, and the dance of the Clowns.
This disc does require careful adjustment of the volume control - the sound of the high strings at forte is not quite up there with the PentaTones. On the other hand, there is great delicacy were called for and the fantasy of the work is always preminent, delightfully so. So how many stars?
Five for performance is easy. Four for sound? Well this gets hard. The multi-channel recording preserves ambience of the recording location nicely - or artificial reverb is added so tastefully that it does not really call attention to itself. Talking in terms of pure audio pleasure, this, (except for the strings at forte), is a highly detailed recording and would rank a "5". Further, who can say that my system just isn't up to reproducing the wonders on this disc? Well, PentaTone, Telarc and quite a few others do a lot better in my listening room so I conclude that faults I do find here are not endemic to the audio system being played. I guess the four for sound will do, some would argue for 4.5, some for 5.

Tracklist:

Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
1. Allegretto Molto Appassionato - 13:18
2. Andante - 9:30
3. Allegretto Non Troppo - Allegro Molto Vivace- 5:54
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" Incidental Music
4. Overture - 12:14
5. Scherzo - 4:46
6. Nocturne - 6:28
7. Intermezzo - 1:36
8. Wedding March- 5:37
9. Intermezzo - 3:20
10. Dance of the Clowns - 1:37

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847)
Jane Glover (conductor)
Leland Chen - violin

Label: Membran 222847
Release Date: 2005
Recording location: Digitally recorded in October 1995 at C.T.S. Studios, London
Original Recording Format: PCM
Recording Type & Bit Rate: DSD64