Symphony No. 3 (Scottish) New York Performances

Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, known as the “Scottish,” grows from impressions of his travels in Scotland and turns them into a single, continuous arc across four linked movements. Heard at David Geffen Hall, conductor Marek Janowski brings his long experience with 19th- and 20th-century orchestral repertory to Mendelssohn’s early-Romantic blend of clear form and restless atmosphere; trumpet principal Christopher Martin is among the featured players. The piece has been part of New York’s orchestral bloodstream since the city’s earliest concert institutions, a staple for testing an ensemble’s discipline. Its restraint is its point: landscape becomes structure, not postcard.