Mahan Esfahani talks to the conductor Paul McCreesh about his lost love for Mendelssohn. At one time it was a passionate affair. As a budding pianist Mahan looked to the great German composer’s music to show him how to be an adult, to be measured, enlightened and cultivated. But as with many young loves the passion dwindled, his music began to fall flat and became predictable, basic and boring.

Felix Mendelssohn is a much-loved figure in both German and British music for his ability to recreate the Baroque world with the added spice of 19th-century harmony. An affable character whose compositional style was imitated by many after his death, Mendelssohn is often celebrated for his honesty and simplicity.

Not wishing to give up on the cherished memories of his youth, Mahan seeks some couples counselling from the conductor Paul McCreesh. The founder and director of the Gabrieli Consort and Players, Paul McCreesh has brought considerable insight and a willingness to experiment to all kinds of repertoire, including his recording of Mendelssohn’s oratorio ‘Elijah’.

Together they work through the arguments that Mendelssohn is stuck between the Classical and Romantic periods, unsure of his purpose; that the Mendelssohnian style became ubiquitous making it clichéd and that he writes marvellous beginnings and endings, but what’s with all the fluff in the middle?

Produced by Rebecca Gaskell
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3 Show less