Mendelssohn: String Symphonies Munich Radio Orchestra & Henry Raudales

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847):
• 1 String Symphony No. 13 in C Minor, MWV N 14 06:08
• String Symphony No. 8 in D Major, MWV N 8:
• 2 String Symphony No. 8 in D Major, MWV N 8: I. Adagio e grave - Allegro 06:56
• 3 String Symphony No. 8 in D Major, MWV N 8: II. Adagio 04:11
• 4 String Symphony No. 8 in D Major, MWV N 8: III. Menuetto - Trio 04:04
• 5 String Symphony No. 8 in D Major, MWV N 8: IV. Allegro molto - Più presto 07:12
• String Symphony No. 12 in G Minor, MWV N 12:
• 6 String Symphony No. 12 in G Minor, MWV N 12: I. Fuga - Allegro 04:17
• 7 String Symphony No. 12 in G Minor, MWV N 12: II. Andante 03:07
• 8 String Symphony No. 12 in G Minor, MWV N 12: III. Allegro molto - Più allegro 07:06
• Total Runtime 43:01

Info for Mendelssohn: String Symphonies

It was thanks to his father's penchant for organizing musical concerts in his family's Berlin apartment on Sunday mornings that the 11-year-old Felix Mendelssohn began to compose quite a long series of string symphonies, and also that the works were initially performed. The study of music and composition spurred the young composer on greatly; his diligence as well as his youthful creativity developed early, and he made astonishing progress. In 1821, he wrote the first half of his string symphonies, which together took less than two years to complete. During performances that formed part of the concerts at home, he always took over the direction of the chamber orchestra, which consisted of amateur and professional musicians from the Berlin court orchestra.

"They are astonishingly assured pieces, bursting with youthful energy and full of ingenious counterpoint…the strings of the Munich Radio Orchestra under their long-time leader, Henry Raudales, give lively and alert accounts of these precocious pieces, full of imaginative touches." (BBC Music Magazine)

"These works do demand an extra sprinkle of musicianly fairy dust to lift them into the realm of music worthy of our ears beyond their interest as historical documents. So it’s hats off to the Münchner Rundfunkorchester and their concertmaster Henry Raudales for giving us some of that here with their programme-opening D minor Violin Concerto." (Gramophone Magazine)

Münchner Rundfunkorchester
Henry Raudales, violin, conductor

Henry Raudales
Belgian violinist Henry Raudales was born in Guatemala into a musical family. His father Enrique Raudales, a student of Zino Francescatti, Henryk Szeryng (violin) and Erich Kleiber (conducting), started Henry on the violin at the age of four. Aged seven he played his first public concert with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra which caught the attention of Yehudi Menuhin, who recommended him for a scholarship in London. At age 14 he received the award Young Violinist of the Year by the Panamerican Union.

Henry studied conducting and violin at the conservatory of Guatemala, Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) and the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp with teachers such as Nathan Milstein, Erick Friedman, Henryk Szeryng and Mrs. Kogan.

In 1985 he won the 3rd prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Since then, he has given innumerable concerts and recitals throughout the world, sharing the stage with renowned artists such as Pierre Amoyal, Nigel Kennedy and Yehudi Menuhin. His ties to Belgium remain strong: having played as a concertmaster at the Royal Flemish Opera, he is also a founding member of the Belgian chamber orchestra Enkabara and since 2005 the concertmaster of Brussels Philharmonic. Additionally, since 2001 he has been the concertmaster of the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, with whom he has recorded over 80 CDs, both as soloist as well as conductor. His most recent recordings include a critically acclaimed disc of Mendelssohn’s six symphonies and early Violin Concerto, and albums of the orchestral music of Paul Graener, works by Walter Braunfels and the Concerto Gregoriano for violin by Ottorino Respighi.

Booklet for Mendelssohn: String Symphonies