First performed when the composer was 19 in 1828, this orchestral overture is influenced by the works of Goethe and Beethoven.
Calm sea was a terrifying thing before the age of steam – no wind means no travel and being stuck out at sea. Mendelssohn captures this in an achingly slow Adagio, eventually followed by the whipping up of the winds, and fanfares as the ship finally arrives at its destination port.
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