Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

Ouvertüren Band 1 op. 21, 26, 27, 32

The four great concert overtures in the versions intended by Mendelssohn for printing To this day, Mendelssohn's epochal Midsummer Night's Dream overture is performed according to a more than questionable tradition of transmission. Neither the first printing of the parts in 1832 and certainly not the score based on it (1835) can be traced directly back to the 17-year-old composer's autograph preserved in Cracow - no wonder, since Mendelssohn had soon carelessly let his original out of his hands, and thus publications came about during his lifetime and with his approval that were full of unintentional contradictions. In contrast, the autograph of 1826 is convincing: it is clear, almost free of contradictions, and deviates considerably from the corrupted printed version. Other notes, but above all coherent, compositionally logical performance markings - Christian Martin Schmidt uncovers the original under the falsifying layers and makes it accessible for musical practice for the first time. The new edition of the Midsummer Night's Dream overture is only one component of the complete edition volume Overtures I. The critical examination of the authoritative sources for the overtures Die Hebriden op. 26, Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt op. 27 and Das Märchen von der schönen Melusine op. 32 yielded comparably serious and audibly new results for the concert hall.To the practical editions of the overtures: