Conducted by Paavo Järvi, the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) performs Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, commonly known as “the Italian”. Recorded at the Alte Oper Frankfurt on June 16, 2012. Published by the hr-Sinfonieorchester channel.
Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 “Italian”
Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, known as the “Italian Symphony,” is one of his most radiant and enduring works. Composed during his early twenties and first performed in 1833 in London, it was inspired by the composer’s travels through Italy a few years earlier. Mendelssohn himself described the piece as “the jolliest work I have ever done,” a reflection of the warmth, energy, and light he associated with the Italian landscape and culture.
The symphony captures Mendelssohn’s gift for blending classical form with Romantic expression. Its orchestration is vibrant and colorful, filled with rhythmic vitality and luminous textures that evoke Mediterranean brightness. Mendelssohn’s admiration for Mozart and Beethoven is evident in the symphony’s structural clarity, yet his own voice shines through in its spirited character, elegant melodies, and refined craftsmanship. Unlike the stormy emotional landscapes of some Romantic contemporaries, Mendelssohn favored balance, grace, and a sense of joyous clarity.
Despite its popularity today, Mendelssohn was never fully satisfied with the work. He revised it several times after its premiere and withheld the final version from publication during his lifetime, only releasing it posthumously in 1851. This perfectionism reflects both his high artistic standards and his ongoing search for refinement in expressing his musical ideas.
The Italian Symphony has since become one of Mendelssohn’s most celebrated achievements, embodying the freshness of youth, the charm of travel-inspired creativity, and the luminous optimism that characterized much of his music. It remains a staple of the orchestral repertoire, admired for its joyful spirit and masterful balance of form and expression.
Felix Mendelssohn was one of music’s most precocious prodigies, creating mature compositions while just a teenager. Still, at age 20, he did what most young men from wealthy families did at the time: He embarked on a “grand tour.” With extended visits to the British Isles and Italy, Mendelssohn expanded his worldview and brought home inspiration for future projects.
Scotland would be memorialized in the Scottish Symphony and the Hebrides Overture, while Italy sparked an Italian Symphony. True to their origins, Mendelssohn’s Scottish works are misty and stormy, while the southern climate of Italy produced, in Mendelssohn’s words, “the jolliest piece I have ever done.”
With the inspiration is the color and atmosphere of beautiful Italy, Mendelssohn made sketches but left the work incomplete:
Image: Wikipedia
“This is Italy! And now has begun what I have always thought… to be the supreme joy in life. And I am loving it. Today was so rich that now, in the evening, I must collect myself a little, and so I am writing to you to thank you, dear parents, for having given me all this happiness.”
In February, he wrote from Rome to his sister Fanny,
“The Italian symphony is making great progress. It will be the jolliest piece I have ever done, especially the last movement. I have not found anything for the slow movement yet, and I think that I will save that for Naples.”
The Italian Symphony was finished in Berlin on 13 March 1833, in response to an invitation for a symphony from the London (now Royal) Philharmonic Society; he conducted the first performance himself in London on 13 May 1833 at a London Philharmonic Society concert.
The symphony’s success and Mendelssohn’s popularity influenced the course of British music for the rest of the century. However, Mendelssohn remained unsatisfied with the composition, which cost him, he said, some of the bitterest moments of his career, and even planned to write alternate versions of the second, third, and fourth movements.
Later in 1834, Mendelssohn made substantial revisions to the symphony’s final three movements. He intended to revise the first movement, too, but postponed that task. Eventually, he judged that too much time had passed for him to rework the first movement in a style consistent with the rest of the piece, so he suppressed the symphony altogether. He never published the symphony, and it appeared in print only in 1851; thus, it is numbered as his ‘Symphony No. 4’, even though it was in fact the third he composed.
Movements
The piece is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings. It is in four movements:
- Allegro vivace (A major)
- Andante con moto (D minor)
- Con moto moderato (A major)
- Presto and Finale: Saltarello (A minor)
1. Allegro vivace (A major)
The first movement of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 (“Italian”), marked Allegro vivace, bursts forth with brilliant energy and sunshine, immediately immersing the listener in an atmosphere of joy and vitality. Written in A major, the key itself reinforces a sense of brightness and optimism. From the opening, the violins launch into a buoyant, dancing theme that sets the tone for the entire movement, accompanied by lively rhythms in the orchestra that suggest the bustling life and festive spirit Mendelssohn experienced during his Italian travels.
Structurally, the movement follows the principles of sonata form, but with Mendelssohn’s signature clarity and elegance. The first theme, with its sparkling momentum, contrasts with a more lyrical secondary theme, yet both remain infused with lightness and flow. Rather than heavy drama, Mendelssohn achieves excitement through quicksilver orchestral textures, rapid exchanges between sections, and a sense of forward propulsion that never falters. The development section explores the themes with agility, weaving them through different tonalities while maintaining a playful, airy character.
One of the hallmarks of this movement is its rhythmic vitality. The perpetual motion of the strings, often in rapid semiquavers, gives the impression of constant motion, like sunlight shimmering across a landscape. The orchestration is lean and transparent, avoiding dense textures in favor of brightness and precision. The movement culminates in a jubilant recapitulation and coda, reaffirming the exuberant character of the opening.
Overall, the first movement stands as one of Mendelssohn’s finest achievements in capturing the spirit of Italy, its warmth, liveliness, and irrepressible energy, translated into music that remains fresh and exhilarating nearly two centuries later.
2. Andante con moto (D minor)
The second movement of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, marked Andante con moto and set in D minor, provides a striking contrast to the jubilant opening. Where the first movement radiates sunshine and festive brilliance, this one is darker, more introspective, and tinged with solemnity. Its character has often been described as a funeral march or processional, with a steady, walking rhythm that evokes the dignity of a religious or ceremonial scene.
The movement begins with a hushed theme in the low strings, joined by clarinets and bassoons, creating a somber and hymn-like atmosphere. This melody unfolds with quiet dignity, its stepwise motion reinforcing the sense of a slow procession. Though rooted in D minor, Mendelssohn enriches the texture by weaving subtle harmonic shifts, lending the music a sense of depth and poignancy.
Rather than dwelling solely in gloom, Mendelssohn introduces contrasting material in the form of more lyrical, tender episodes that lighten the mood. These passages seem almost like rays of light breaking through the solemnity, adding emotional complexity and preventing the music from becoming static. The interplay between these darker and lighter sections gives the movement a sense of balance and expressive breadth.
Orchestration plays a key role here: the winds often carry the thematic material, lending a plaintive, human quality, while the strings provide the underpinning motion. The overall pacing is deliberate, but the “con moto” indication ensures that the movement never feels heavy-it retains an undercurrent of gentle forward momentum.
This Andante stands as a contemplative core of the symphony, revealing Mendelssohn’s ability to combine classical restraint with Romantic expressiveness, offering a moment of reflection before the liveliness of the later movements.
3. Con moto moderato (A major)
The third movement of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, marked Con moto moderato and set in A major, serves as a graceful interlude between the somber procession of the Andante and the fiery finale to come. It takes the form of a minuet and trio, though Mendelssohn reshapes the traditional dance style into something more refined, elegant, and flowing, closer in spirit to a lyrical song than a rustic dance.
The main section of the movement unfolds with a broad, noble theme in the strings, supported by gentle harmonies that recall the courtly poise of Classical-era minuets. Rather than being tightly rhythmical or strongly accented, the melody glides with an effortless charm, demonstrating Mendelssohn’s gift for seamless, polished lines. This music has a distinctly pastoral character, evoking a calm and airy atmosphere after the darker hues of the second movement.
The contrasting trio section shifts to the winds, who deliver a lighter, more playful theme, almost conversational in tone. Here, the textures become more transparent, with woodwinds and horns exchanging phrases against delicate string accompaniment. The result is a moment of freshness and simplicity, standing in contrast to the grandeur of the minuet.
When the opening material returns, Mendelssohn reinforces the sense of balance and symmetry, yet the music never feels rigid. Instead, it flows naturally, as if shaped by an underlying elegance that was central to his style.
Overall, the third movement provides a moment of lyrical serenity in the symphony’s architecture, preparing the listener for the vigorous energy of the finale while offering Mendelssohn’s characteristically graceful blend of Classical form and Romantic sensibility.
4. Presto and Finale: Saltarello (A minor)
The fourth movement of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, marked Saltarello: Presto and set in A minor, bursts forth with exhilarating intensity. Drawing on the rhythms of the saltarello, a lively Italian folk dance characterized by leaping steps, Mendelssohn closes the symphony not with triumphant grandeur but with breathless, fiery motion. The choice of A minor, rather than a return to the bright A major of the opening, gives the finale an unexpectedly dramatic and restless character.
From the outset, the movement races forward with unrelenting energy. Strings drive the rapid pace with urgent rhythmic figures, while winds and brass punctuate the texture with brilliant accents. The music evokes the spirit of outdoor festivity, yet beneath its vitality lies an undercurrent of tension-this is no carefree dance, but one tinged with shadows. Mendelssohn maintains the perpetual motion through dazzling orchestration, creating the impression of swirling crowds and ceaseless movement.
A contrasting theme appears briefly, offering momentary lyrical respite, but the restless momentum always reasserts itself. Unlike many Classical and early Romantic symphonies, where finales often resolve with radiant affirmation, Mendelssohn allows the intensity to persist to the end. The coda builds into a whirlwind, driving the saltarello rhythms to their ultimate conclusion, and the symphony closes abruptly in A minor-a strikingly dramatic choice that leaves the listener in awe of its relentless power.
This finale exemplifies Mendelssohn’s ability to integrate folk-inspired vitality within classical form, while also surprising audiences with its unconventional minor-key ending. The effect is thrilling, marking the conclusion of the Italian Symphony as both celebratory and defiant, a true testament to his originality.
Sources
- Symphony No. 4 (Mendelssohn) on Wikipedia
- Symphony No. 4, Italian on thespco.org
- Symphony No. 4, Op. 90 (Mendelssohn, Felix) on the International Music Score Library Project website
- Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, “Italian” on the L.A. Phil website
