 The Scottish Symphony ( Symphony No. 3 in A minor ) was written and revised intermittently between 1829 ( when Mendelssohn noted down the opening theme during a visit to Holyrood Palace ) and 1842 , when it was given its premiere in Leipzig , the last of his symphonies to be performed in public . This piece evokes Scotland 's atmosphere in the ethos of Romanticism , but does not employ any identified Scottish folk melodies . 
