Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nezet-Seguin & RIAS Kammerchor - Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 1-5 (2017) CD Rip

After establishing a secure reputation as an interpreter of the large-scale symphonies of Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler, Yannick Nezet-Seguin turns his attention from late Romanticism to its earlier phase, as represented by the five symphonies of Felix Mendelssohn. Over three successive concerts in February 2016, Nezet-Seguin and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe performed the cycle to critical acclaim in the Grande salle Pierre Boulez of the Philharmonie de Paris. The vibrant sonorities of the orchestra and the hall's resonance are major attractions for this 2017 Deutsche Grammophon release, because Nezet-Seguin is focused on crisp articulation and clean instrumental colors, while the acoustics give the music a luminous sheen without blurring it. This is nowhere more evident than in the purely orchestral works, particularly the underplayed Symphony No. 1 in C minor, the ever-popular Symphony No. 3 in A minor, "Scottish," and the Symphony No. 4 in A major, "Italian," which offer infectious melodies, lively rhythms, and the warm tone colors that Deutsche Grammophon's expert engineering captures so well. The sound quality is less appealing in the choral movements of the Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, "Hymn of Praise," due to the RIAS Kammerchor's hazy blend and Mendelssohn's heavier scoring, which make this quasi-oratorio suffer in comparison with the transparent "Scottish" and "Italian." The Symphony No. 5 in D minor, "Reformation" is perhaps the least compelling, owing to its earnest treatment of Lutheran hymns and the lack of effervescence that made the other orchestral symphonies so delightful, and to which Nezet-Seguin seems more attuned. -- Blair Sanderson