Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2, Conducted by D. Gatti
Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 52, known as Lobgesang or Hymn of Praise, is conducted by the esteemed Italian Daniele Gatti at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence. Considered a masterpiece by many of the composer's contemporaries, the Second Symphony, which is scored for a choir and vocal soloists as well as an orchestra, is not performed as often as some of his other works nowadays. This performance by the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra and Chorus, therefore, constitutes an excellent opportunity to witness its soaring grandeur and impressive compositional vision in person.
Commissioned for a Leipzig festival to mark the 400th anniversary of the invention of the modern printing press by Johannes Gutenberg, Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 premiered on 25 June 1840. In celebrating this technical advancement, the work also points to the German Reformation which followed it, since presses were used extensively at the time to print Bibles in German. For some musicologists, the symphony also celebrates German sacred music, notably many of the compositions of J. S. Bach and George Frideric Handel. By introducing an element of text into the symphonic realm, Mendelssohn was bringing together ideas of literacy and religious expression in his composition.
At the time, many drew understandable comparisons between Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2, a piece he referred to as a Symphonie-Cantate, and Ludwig van Beethoven's epic Choral Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, which had pioneered the idea of using vocals in a symphonic setting 16 years earlier. Among the detractors were Richard Wagner, the German composer and the English musicologist, Gerald Abraham. Despite the obvious similarities between the two works, Mendelssohn's vision was innovative in its own right. He wanted to bring cantatas together with the established symphonic style of the day while also blurring the lines between secular and sacred music. As such, Symphony No. 2 opens with a sinfonia, a purely orchestral movement in three sections, followed by intense choral movements, duets and arias.
Daniele Gatti has served as the Chief Conductor of the Saxon State Orchestra Dresden and became the Music Director of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 2026. In addition to his illustrious performance career as a conductor, the maestro has taught conducting at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. This performance at the Zubin Mehta hall of Florence's Teatro del Maggio Musicale is sure to delight all music lovers.