A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61 [Previn] - Felix Mendelssohn 320cbr (Big Papi) 1977 Classical Music

Andre Previn was at his freshest and most involved in 1976 when he made his acclaimed recording of Mendelssohn's complete Midsummer Night's Dream music, all 57 min. worth. It's become fashionable to include some spoken dialogue (as Abbado does on his Sony recording with the Berlin Phil.) so that we can capture the melding of Mendelssohn with Shakespeare. Previn's version is dialogue free, but he is unusually alert and sparkling here.

One secret is taking slower than normal tempos, which gives the orchestra space to phrase with more imagination. You really do participate in a wordless drama of romance and magic, and thanks to EMI's sterling engineering, which highlights all the delicious detials of the LSO's playing, thrice-familiar music sounds new and engaging. That's the secret--Previn doesn't tkae a single bar for granted, so listeners old and new can immrese themselves in Mendelsoohn's immortal fairy whimsy. Even the scaling back to a smaller orchestral sound--far removed from the symphonic breadth of, say, Klemperer--makes us feel that we have traveled to a world of delicate enchantment. Highly recommended.