Otto Klemperer conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus for this recording of Mendelssohn's Incidental Music to Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.
Otto Klemperer was very much a man of the theatre. "Here, opera and drama were truly united," he said of his time at Berlin's Kroll Theatre, a progressive and influential force in the heady years of the Weimar Republic. He was also a man with a sharp sense of humour: this performance of Mendelssohn's incidental music to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream both glows with enchantment and sparkles with wit.
Tracklist:
A1 Overture, Op. 21, MWV P3 12:58
A2 No. 1, Scherzo 5:34
A3 No. 2, March of the Fairies. Allegro vivace 1:20
A4 No. 3, Song with Chorus. "Ye Spotted Snakes" 4:44
B1 No. 5, Intermezzo. Allegro appassionato 4:01
B2 No. 7, Nocturne. Con moto tranquillo 7:07
B3 No. 9, Wedding March. Allegro vivace 5:03
B4 No. 10, Funeral March. Andante comodo 1:04
B5 No. 11, A Dance of Clowns. Allegro di molto 1:53
B6 Finale. "Through the House" 4:52
Contralto Vocals – Janet Baker
Soprano Vocals – Heather Harper
