Mendelssohn / String Symphony No. 7 in D minor

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
String Symphony No. 7 in D minor (1821)
00:00 – Allegro
05:31 – Andante (amorevole)
11:03 – Menuetto
14:51 – Allegro molto
Performed by the Northern Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Nicholas Ward.
“The String Symphony No. 7 in D minor opens with a strongly marked rhythmic figure, followed by gently resolving suspensions. The opening subject lends itself to dramatic contrapuntal treatment, in a musical idiom that has now become Mendelssohn’s own. The second movement is tenderly moving in its antiphonal use of instrumental groups. There is an energetic Minuet and a contrasting Trio, with an imitative opening. There is dramatic tension in the start of the rapid final Allegro molto, which finds a necessary and appropriate place for contrapuntal episodes.” – Keith Anderson
Painting: Portrait of a Girl with Gun and Hound (in the style of Joshua Reynolds), 18th-19th cen.