To this day, Mendelssohns epoch-making Overture to A Midsummer Nights Dream has been performed on the basis of a more than dubious transmission. Neither the first edition of the parts (1832), and certainly not the print of the score based on these parts (1835) go back directly to the autograph of the 17-year-old composer, which is now located in Krakow. No wonder, since Mendelssohn had breezily given away his original at an early date. The result: during his lifetime, versions were published with his authorization, even though they were full of unintended inconsistencies. Yet the autograph of 1826 is unequivocal: it is clear, practically free of irregularities and diverges considerably from the corrupted printed version. Christian Martin Schmidt comes up with occasionally differing musical passages, but above all with logical and compositionally compelling performance instructions, laying bare to musical practice the original form buried beneath layers of falsified material for the first time.
The new edition of the Midsummer Nights Dream Overture is only one element of the volume Overtures I of the Mendelssohn Complete Edition. Similarly serious and audible new findings of importance to performers were realized from the critical examination of the major sources for the overtures The Hebrides op. 26, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage op. 27 and Melusine op. 32.