Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, Germany, on February 3, 1809, and died in Leipzig, Germany, on November 4, 1847. The first performance of the “Italian” Symphony took place in London, England, on May 13, 1833, with the composer conducting the London Philharmonic Society. The “Italian” Symphony is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-seven minutes.

On May 8, 1830, 21-year-old Mendelssohn departed Berlin for Italy, by way of Munich (stopping first in Weimar to visit Goethe), and Vienna. Mendelssohn continued to Venice, Florence, Rome, and finally, Naples. Mendelssohn’s high spirits during his Italian sojourn are reflected in correspondence to his family. In a letter of October 10, 1830, he exulted: “This is Italy. What I have been looking forward to all my life as the greatest happiness is now begun and I am basking in it.” On October 23, Mendelssohn described Florence: “The air is warm and the sky cloudless; everything is lovely and glorious.” He later remarked, “The whole country had such a festive air that I felt as if I were a young prince making his entry.”

Mendelssohn arrived in Rome on November 1 and remained there until mid-April of the following year. Mendelssohn wrote on February 22, 1831: “The ‘Italian’ Symphony is making rapid progress. It will be the jolliest piece I have so far written, especially the last movement. I have not yet decided on the adagio and I think I shall wait until I get to Naples.” Mendelssohn finally completed his “Italian” Symphony in 1833, in response to a commission by the London Philharmonic Society. The work received its premiere under Mendelssohn’s direction in London on May 13 of that year.

Mendelssohn, a relentless perfectionist, was never entirely pleased with his “Italian” Symphony. The composer did not allow the work to be published, and throughout his lifetime, Mendelssohn continued to revise the score. The Symphony was finally issued posthumously, and although it seems not to have satisfied Mendelssohn’s standards, the “Italian” Symphony—with its wealth of melodic inspiration and infectious joie de vivre—has continued to delight audiences.

The “Italian” Symphony is in four movements. The first (Allegro vivace) evokes the high spirits Mendelssohn experienced during his Italian journey. Commentators have suggested the slow-tempo second movement (Andante con moto) was inspired by a religious procession Mendelssohn witnessed in Naples. The graceful third movement (Con moto moderato) recalls the minuets of Mendelssohn’s Classical-era predecessors, Haydn and Mozart. The finale (Presto) is based upon a Saltarello, a dance whose name is derived from the word “saltare” (“to jump”). Perhaps the frenetic activity of the closing was inspired by the composer’s experiences during carnival in Rome:

I arrived at the carnival, and was thinking of nothing, when suddenly I was assailed by a shower of sugar candies. I looked up and saw some ladies whom I had seen occasionally at balls, but scarcely knew, and when in my embarrassment, I took off my hat to bow to them, the pelting began in right earnest. Their carriage drove on, and in the next was Miss T___, a delicate beautiful Englishwoman. I tried to bow to her but she pelted me too; so I grew desperate, and clutching the sugar comfits, I flung them back bravely. There were swarms of my acquaintances and my blue coat was soon as white as that of a miller. The B___ family were standing on a balcony, flinging comfits like hail at my head. And thus what with all the pelting and being pelted, amid a thousand jests and the most extravagant costumes, the day ended with horse races.

Program notes by Ken Meltzer