Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix: Ouvertüre C-Dur

Certainly Robert Schumann was right when he stated soon after Beethoven’s death that the latter’s conception of the symphony as a great, universal confessional work was hardly to be continued by the next generation of composers. He saw a solution to the dilemma in the creation of autonomous concert overtures, such as those written, for instance, by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Four of his overtures were printed during his lifetime, and others were extant in manuscript, though frequently and successfully performed by the composer. Belonging to the latter group is the “Trumpet Overture,” begun in 1825 and performed three times between 1828 und 1833 on prominent occasions in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and London.