Accademia Bizantina
Ottavio Dantone conductor
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
Symphony no. 4 in A major Op. 90 “Italian”
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Symphony no. 3 in E-flat major Op. 97 “Rhenish”
Since the last century, our auditory memory of XIX-century symphonies has become consolidated on the performative tradition of large orchestras using standardized instruments, features and timbres. This is a “habit” that Accademia Bizantina has always avoided, not only for the Baroque repertoire: see for example the two Romantic symphonies they propose in historically-informed performance style, on period instruments. Mendelssohn’s Italian will sound “different”—a tribute to Italian cantability incorporating figurations from saltarello, but mindful of Bach’s counterpoint and infused with the Vienna spirit. And the Rhenish will resonate with a surprisingly rich tonal palette, enhancing Schumann’s thematic elaboration and renewal of the great traditional form.
