About This Item
Mendelssohn's Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream was written in 1842, on a commission from King Frederick William IV of Prussia. The king was inspired by a presentation of Sophocles's Antigone which featured music by Mendelssohn, and was the first of several commissions for the composer to write music to accompany the king's favorite plays. It is interesting to note that the work's dazzling overture was actually written a full sixteen years earlier, and was not originally intended to be performed in conjunction with Shakespeare's play. This recording from Ivan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra captures the magical spirit of this music as never before. The program is complemented appropriately by three orchestral songs of Fanny Mendelssohn. Details 1. Overture Mendelssohn 13 47 2. Scherzo Mendelssohn 04 33 3. Allegro Vivace Mendelssohn 01 35 4. Song with Choir Mendelssohn 04 24 5. Intermezzo Mendelssohn 03 23 6. Notturno Mendelssohn 06 05 7. Wedding March Mendelssohn 05 24 8. Funeral March Mendelssohn 01 32 9. Dance of the Clowns Mendelssohn 01 50 10. Finale Mendelssohn 05 17 11. May Night Opus 9 No. 6 Fanny Mendelssohn 02 25 12. Distance Opus 9 No. 2 Fanny Mendelssohn 02 58 13. Gondola Song Opus 1 No. 6 Fanny Mendelssohn 03 13
