Mendelssohn, Symphony No.3 in A minor, op.56 “Scottish”

One of the leading conductors of our time, Christoph von Dohnanyi was born in Berlin in 1929 and studied law in Munich after the war, later deciding to devote himself exclusively to music. His most important teacher was his grandfather, the composer Ernst von Dohnanyi, with whom he studied at the University of Florida. Dohnanyi also took conducting courses in Tanglewood. His career began when Georg Solti called him to the Frankfurt Opera in 1953, where he was choral conductor and later orchestral conductor. He then took posts in various German cities before serving as principal conductor and general manager of the Hamburg State Opera from 1978 to 1984. In 1984 he succeeded Lorin Maazel as permanent conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra. It is rare to find a conductor of Dohnanyi's eminence who devotes such a great deal of time and energy to contemporary music. He has led the world premieres of Hans Werner Henze's operas "Der junge Lord" and "Die Bassariden," Gottfried von Einem's "Kabale und Liebe" and Friedrich Cerha's "Baal," along with a number of orchestral works. One of the highlights of Unitel's recordings of 20th-century works is Gustav Rudolf Sellner's Berlin production of Henze's "Der junge Lord" with several members of the world premiere, including Edith Mathis, Donald Grobe and Loren Driscoll. Also available are recordings of Richard Strauss's "Burleske," Béla Bartók's "The Miraculous Mandarin" and Mendelssohn's "Symphony No. 3," the "Scottish" - all three of which were recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1977 at Vienna's Musikvereinssaal.