Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra

But then the composer was struck by doubt and wondered whether he should revise the score. Perhaps because the new work was such a contrast to the »classical symphonies« from the pen of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven? Mendelssohn’s first movement already seems like a radiant finale whose dynamic brio is nothing short of breathtaking.

Italy is also the country of opera! Little is known about the aspirations to provide a home for instrumental music, for symphonies and chamber music, in this operatic land, but one key figure in the field was Giuseppe Martucci, a follower of Wagner and Brahms.