Mendelssohn & Schubert

With the performance and recording of the complete Schubert symphonies, B’Rock and René Jacobs embarked on a symphonic journey that they now continue by going back in time: together they explore the world of Felix Mendelssohn, mirrored by Schubertian’s enigmatic Unfinished Symphony.

Writing his first symphony at the age of 15, to immediate success, Mendelssohn kept his feet firmly planted in Viennese classicism while looking resolutely to the future, revealing himself to be a master in effortlessly combining nuance, audacity and innovation. The same ingredients characterise his famous Fifth Symphony, nicknamed Reformation, written in honour of the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, a key document of Protestantism. If the urge is really too strong, you can (softly) hum along with Luther’s famous chorale Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott…

The culmination of this programme is undoubtedly Mendelssohn’s famous Violin Concerto. With its tenderness, playfulness and grace, the concerto fits Vilde Frang like a glove.