Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and generally known as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer, pianist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Events 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry uniting the fortunes of those two states Year 1809 ( MDCCCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 1333 - Flood of the Arno River, causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani Year 1847 ( MDCCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Conducting is the act of directing a Musical performance by way of visible gestures Romantic Music is a Musicological term referring to a particular period theory compositional practice and canon in European music history from about 1815 to 1910 He was born to a notable Jewish family, the grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Moses Mendelssohn ( Dessau, 6 September 1729 4 January 1786 in Berlin) was a German Jewish Philosopher His work includes symphonies, concerti, oratorios, piano and chamber music. A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. The term Concerto (plural concertos or concerti) usually refers to a three part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an Orchestra An oratorio is a large Musical composition including an Orchestra, a Choir, and soloists The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the Opera The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and antisemitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his creative originality is now being recognized and re-evaluated. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility He is now among the more popular composers of the Romantic era. Romantic Music is a Musicological term referring to a particular period theory compositional practice and canon in European music history from about 1815 to 1910

Contents 1 Life 2 Revival of Bach's and Schubert's music 3 Contemporaries 4 Reputation 5 Works 5.1 Juvenilia and early works 5.2 Symphonies 5.3 Other orchestral music 5.4 Opera 5.5 Concertos 5.6 Chamber Music 5.7 Choral 5.8 Songs 5.9 Piano 5.10 Organ 6 Media 7 Scores and Recordings 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

Life

Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, the son of a banker, Abraham Mendelssohn (who later changed his surname to Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and who was himself the son of the German-Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn), and of Lea Salomon, a member of the Itzig family and the sister of Jakob Salomon Bartholdy. Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy (born Abraham Mendelssohn) ( Berlin, 10 December 1776 &ndash 19 November 1835 in Berlin Moses Mendelssohn ( Dessau, 6 September 1729 4 January 1786 in Berlin) was a German Jewish Philosopher Many of the thirteen children of Daniel Itzig and Miriam Wulff, and their descendants and spouses had significant impact on both Jewish and German social Jakob Salomon Bartholdy (1779񮓱 was a Prussian diplomat born Jakob Salomon in Berlin of Jewish parentage and educated at the University of

Felix grew up in an environment of intense intellectual ferment. The greatest minds of Germany were frequent visitors to his family's home in Berlin, including Wilhelm von Humboldt and Alexander von Humboldt. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt ( June 22, 1767 April 8, 1835) government functionary (September 14 1769 &ndash May 6 1859 was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister philosopher and linguist His sister Rebecka married the great German mathematician Lejeune Dirichlet. Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet (ləʒœn diʀiçle February 13, 1805 &ndash May 5, 1859) was a German Mathematician

Abraham sought to renounce the Jewish religion; his children were first brought up without religious education, and were baptised as Lutherans in 1816 (at which time Felix took the additional names Jakob Ludwig). Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther (Abraham and his wife were not themselves baptised until 1822. ) The name Bartholdy was assumed at the suggestion of Lea's brother, Jakob, who had purchased a property of this name and adopted it as his own surname. Abraham was later to explain this decision in a letter to Felix as a means of showing a decisive break with the traditions of his father Moses: "There can no more be a Christian Mendelssohn than there can be a Jewish Confucius". Confucius ( lit " Master Kung " September 28, 551 BC - 479 BC) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher Although Felix continued to sign his letters as "Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in obedience to his father's injunctions, he seems not to have objected to the use of "Mendelssohn" alone. ^[1]

The family moved to Berlin in 1812. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Abraham and Lea Mendelssohn sought to give Felix, his brother Paul, and sisters Fanny and Rebecka, the best education possible. Rebecca Henriette Lejeune Dirichlet, née Rebecca Henriette Mendelssohn Bartholdy ( 11 April 1811 &ndash 1 December 1858) was a granddaughter His sister Fanny Mendelssohn (later Fanny Hensel), became a well-known pianist and amateur composer; originally Abraham had thought that she, rather than her brother, might be the more musical. Fanny Cäcilie Mendelssohn ( November 14, 1805 &ndash May 14, 1847) later Fanny Hensel, was a German Pianist A pianist (/'piənɪst/ is a Musician who plays the Piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces play with an ensemble or Orchestra However, at that time, it was not considered proper (by either Abraham or Felix) for a woman to have a career in music, so Fanny remained an amateur musician. Six of her early songs were later published (with her consent) under Felix's name. ^[2]

Like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart before him, Mendelssohn was regarded as a child prodigy. List of child prodigies|Fictional child prodigies A child prodigy is a one who masters one or more skills or arts at an early age He began taking piano lessons from his mother when he was six, and at seven was tutored by Marie Bigot in Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city From 1817 he studied composition with Carl Friedrich Zelter in Berlin. Carl Friedrich Zelter ( 11 December 1758 &ndash 15 May 1832)was a German composer conductor and teacher of music He probably made his first public concert appearance at the age of nine, when he participated in a chamber music concert. Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber He was also a prolific composer as a child, and wrote his first published work, a piano quartet, by the time he was thirteen. Zelter introduced Mendelssohn to his friend and correspondent, the elderly Goethe. ˈjoːhan ˈvɔlfgaŋ fɔn ˈgøːtə (in English generally ˈgɝːtə 28 August 1749 22 March 1832 was a German writer He later took lessons from the composer and piano virtuoso Ignaz Moscheles who however confessed in his diaries ^[3] that he had little to teach him. (Isaac Ignaz Moscheles ( May 23, 1794 &ndash March 10, 1870) was a Bohemian Composer and Piano Virtuoso Moscheles became a close colleague and lifelong friend.

Besides music, Mendelssohn's education included art, literature, languages, and philosophy. He was a skilled artist in pencil and watercolour, he could speak (besides his native German) English, Italian, and Latin, and he had an interest in classical literature.

As an adolescent, his works were often performed at home with a private orchestra for the associates of his wealthy parents amongst the intellectual elite of Berlin. Mendelssohn wrote 12 string symphonies between 1821 and 1823, between the ages of 12 and 14. These works were ignored for over a century, but are now recorded and heard occasionally in concerts. In 1824, still aged only 15, he wrote his first symphony for full orchestra (in C minor, Op. 11). At the age of 16 he wrote his String Octet in E Flat Major, the first work which showed the full power of his genius. In Music, an octet is a Musical ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices or a musical composition written for such an ensemble The Octet and his overture to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which he wrote a year later, are the best known of his early works. The Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1826 and later incorporated into his Incidental music for William Shakespeare ( baptised A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by " The Knight's Tale " from (He wrote incidental music for the play 16 years later in 1842, including the famous Wedding March. Felix Mendelssohn 's " Wedding March " is one of the best known of the pieces that he wrote as incidental music for Shakespeare 's play A Midsummer ) 1827 saw the premiere—and sole performance in his lifetime—of his opera, Die Hochzeit des Camacho. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto The failure of this production left him disinclined to venture into the genre again; he later toyed for a while in the 1840s with a libretto by Eugène Scribe based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, but rejected it as unsuitable. Augustin Eugène Scribe ( December 24, 1791 – February 20, 1861) was a French dramatist and Librettist. William Shakespeare ( baptised The Tempest is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It is generally dated to 1610-11 and accepted as the last play written solely by him although

From 1826 to 1829, Mendelssohn studied at the University of Berlin, where he attended lectures on aesthetics by Hegel, on history by Eduard Gans and on geography by Carl Ritter. For other universities in Berlin see List of Universities in Berlin. Eduard Gans ( March 22 1797 - May 5, 1839) was a German jurist

In 1829 Mendelssohn paid his first visit to Britain, where Moscheles, already settled in London, introduced him to influential musical circles. He had a great success, conducting his First Symphony and playing in public and private concerts. In the summer he visited Edinburgh and became a friend of the composer John Thomson. Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. John Thomson ( 28 October 1805 &ndash 18 May[[ 841]] was a Scottish classical composer On subsequent visits he met with Queen Victoria and her musical husband Prince Albert, both of whom were great admirers of his music. Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland In the course of ten visits to Britain during his life he won a strong following, and Scotland inspired two of his most famous works, the overture Fingal's Cave (also known as the Hebrides Overture) and the Scottish Symphony (Symphony No. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Hebrides Overture (German Die Hebriden) opus 26 also known as Fingal's Cave, is a Concert overture composed by Felix Mendelssohn The Symphony No 3 in A Minor op 56 called the "Scottish" Symphony was composed by Felix Mendelssohn. 3). His oratorio Elijah was premiered in Birmingham at the Triennial Music Festival on 26 August 1846. Elijah is an Oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1846 for the Birmingham Festival. Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um The Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival, in Birmingham, England, founded in 1784 was the longest-running classical music Festival of its kind Events 1071 - Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Army at Manzikert. For the game see 1846 (board game. Year 1846 ( MDCCCXLVI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display

On the death of Zelter, Mendelssohn had some hopes of becoming the conductor of the Berlin Singakademie with which he had revived Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion (see below). The Berlin Singakademie (formal name Sing-Akademie zu Berlin) is a musical (originally Choral) society founded in Berlin in 1791 by Carl Friedrich WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" The St Matthew Passion (Matthäuspassion (also Matthæus Passion) BWV 244 is a musical composition written by Johann Sebastian Bach for solo voices However he was defeated for the post by Karl Rungenhagen. This may have been because of Mendelssohn's youth, and fear of possible innovations; it was also suspected by some (and possibly by Mendelssohn himself) to be on account of his Jewish origins.

Nonetheless, in 1835 he was appointed as conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. The Gewandhausorchester Leipzig ( Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra) is a famous German Orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. This appointment was extremely important for him; he felt himself to be a German and wished to play a leading part in his country's musical life. In its way it was a redress for his disappointment over the Singakademie appointment. Despite efforts by the king of Prussia to lure him to Berlin, Mendelssohn concentrated on developing the musical life of Leipzig and in 1843 he founded the Leipzig Conservatory, where he successfully persuaded Ignaz Moscheles and Robert Schumann to join him. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. This sort of fix restores section edit linkpoints to where they belong The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Leipzig" ( German: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" (Isaac Ignaz Moscheles ( May 23, 1794 &ndash March 10, 1870) was a Bohemian Composer and Piano Virtuoso Robert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann (June 8 1810 &ndash July 29 1856 was a German Composer, Aesthete and influential Music critic

Mendelssohn's personal life was conventional. His marriage to Cécile Jeanrenaud in March of 1837 was very happy and the couple had five children: Carl, Marie, Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix, and Lilli. Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1841 &ndash 1880 was a German Chemist and a pioneer in the manufacture of Aniline dye Mendelssohn was an accomplished painter in watercolours, and his enormous correspondence shows that he could also be a witty writer in German and English—sometimes accompanied by humorous sketches and cartoons in the text.

Mendelssohn suffered from bad health in the final years of his life, probably aggravated by nervous problems and overwork, and he was greatly distressed by the death of his sister Fanny in May 1847. Felix Mendelssohn died later that same year after a series of strokes, on November 4, 1847, in Leipzig. Events 1333 - Flood of the Arno River, causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani Year 1847 ( MDCCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common His funeral was held at the Paulinerkirche and he is buried in the Trinity Cemetery in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The Paulinerkirche in the historic city center of Göttingen was completed as a minster in 1304 Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Kreuzberg, since 2001 part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin

Revival of Bach's and Schubert's music

Mendelssohn's own works show his study of Baroque and early classical music. His fugues and chorales especially reflect a tonal clarity and use of counterpoint reminiscent of Johann Sebastian Bach, by whose music he was deeply influenced. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" His great-aunt, Sarah Levy (née Itzig) was a pupil of Bach's son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, and had supported the widow of another son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Many of the thirteen children of Daniel Itzig and Miriam Wulff, and their descendants and spouses had significant impact on both Jewish and German social Wilhelm Friedemann Bach ( November 22, 1710 &ndash July 1, 1784) second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach ( March 8, 1714 &ndash December 14, 1788) was a German musician and composer the second of five sons She had collected a number of Bach manuscripts. J. S. Bach's music, which had fallen into relative obscurity by the turn of the 19th century, was also deeply respected by Mendelssohn's teacher Zelter. In 1829, with the backing of Zelter and the assistance of a friend, the actor Eduard Devrient, Mendelssohn arranged and conducted a performance in Berlin of Bach's St Matthew Passion. (Philipp Eduard Devrient ( 11 August 1801 – 4 October 1877) was a German Baritone, librettist, Playwright The St Matthew Passion (Matthäuspassion (also Matthæus Passion) BWV 244 is a musical composition written by Johann Sebastian Bach for solo voices The orchestra and choir were provided by the Berlin Singakademie of which Zelter was the principal conductor. The Berlin Singakademie (formal name Sing-Akademie zu Berlin) is a musical (originally Choral) society founded in Berlin in 1791 by Carl Friedrich The success of this performance (the first since Bach's death in 1750) was an important element in the revival of J. S. Bach's music in Germany and, eventually, throughout Europe. It earned Mendelssohn widespread acclaim at the age of twenty. It also led to one of the very few references which Mendelssohn ever made to his origins: 'To think that it took an actor and a Jew's son (Judensohn) to revive the greatest Christian music for the world!' (cited by Devrient in his memoirs of the composer).

Mendelssohn also revived interest in the work of Franz Schubert. Schumann discovered the manuscript of Schubert's Ninth Symphony and sent it to Mendelssohn who promptly premiered it in Leipzig on 21 March 1839, more than a decade after the composer's death. Robert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann (June 8 1810 &ndash July 29 1856 was a German Composer, Aesthete and influential Music critic The Symphony No 9 in C major D 944, known as the Great, is the final symphony completed by Franz Schubert. Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 1839 ( MDCCCXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common

Contemporaries

Throughout his life Mendelssohn was wary of the more radical musical developments undertaken by some of his contemporaries. He was generally on friendly, if somewhat cool, terms with the likes of Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, and Giacomo Meyerbeer, but in his letters expresses his frank disapproval of their works. Giacomo Meyerbeer ( September 5, 1791 &ndash May 2, 1864) was a noted German -born Opera Composer, and

In particular, he seems to have regarded Paris and its music with the greatest of suspicion and an almost Puritanical distaste. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Attempts made during his visit there to interest him in Saint-Simonianism ended in embarrassing scenes. Saint-Simonianism was a French socialist movement of the first half of the Nineteenth century. He thought the Paris style of opera vulgar, and the works of Meyerbeer insincere. When Ferdinand Hiller suggested in conversation to Felix that he looked rather like Meyerbeer (they were distant cousins, both descendants of Rabbi Moses Isserlis), Mendelssohn was so upset that he immediately went to get a haircut to differentiate himself. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Ferdinand (von Hiller ( 24 October 1811 &ndash Moses Isserles is commonly known as "the Rema" ( Hebrew: רמ"א It is significant that the only musician with whom he was a close personal friend, Moscheles, was of an older generation and equally conservative in outlook. Moscheles preserved this outlook at the Leipzig Conservatory until his own death in 1870.

Reputation

This conservative strain in Mendelssohn, which set him apart from some of his more flamboyant contemporaries, bred a similar condescension on their part toward his music. His success, his popularity and his Jewish origins, irked Richard Wagner sufficiently to damn Mendelssohn with faint praise, three years after his death, in an anti-Jewish pamphlet Das Judenthum in der Musik. "Das Judenthum in der Musik" ( German, "Jewishness in Music" but normally translated Judaism in Music) (in German spelled after its first publication This was the start of a movement to denigrate Mendelssohn's achievements which lasted almost a century, the remnants of which can still be discerned today amongst some writers. The Nazi regime was to cite Mendelssohn's Jewish origin in banning his works and destroying memorial statues. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Such avowedly anti-Semitic political opposition to Mendelssohn should of course be differentiated from expressions of artistic or aesthetic disdain for Mendelssohn's music such as those found in Charles Rosen's essay, who disparages Mendelssohn's style for "religious kitsch";^[4] however, these opinions may also reflect a continuation of the aesthetic contempt of Wagner and his musical followers. Charles Rosen (born May 5 1927 is an American Pianist and music theorist.

In England, Mendelssohn's reputation remained high for a long time; the adulatory (and today scarcely readable) novel Charles Auchester by the teenaged Sarah Sheppard, published in 1851, which features Mendelssohn as the "Chevalier Seraphael", remained in print for nearly eighty years. Queen Victoria demonstrated her enthusiasm by requesting, when The Crystal Palace was being re-built in 1854, that it include a statue of Mendelssohn. The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and Glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the ^[5] Mendelssohn's Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream was played as a piece of ceremonial music at the wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Victoria, The Princess Royal, to Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia in 1858 and it is still popular today at marriage ceremonies. The Princess Victoria Princess Royal (Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa 21 November 1840 &ndash 5 August 1901) was the eldest child and daughter Frederick III (German Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl, English Frederick William Nicholas Charles; October 18 1831 – June 15 1888 (German Friedrich His sacred choral music, particularly the smaller-scale works, remain enduringly popular in the choral tradition of the Church of England. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican However many critics, including Bernard Shaw, began to condemn Mendelssohn's music for its association with Victorian cultural insularity. George Bernard Shaw ( (26 July 1856 &ndash 2 November 1950 was an Irish Playwright.

Over the last fifty years a new appreciation of Mendelssohn's work has developed, which takes into account not only the popular 'war horses', such as the E minor Violin Concerto and the Italian Symphony, but has been able to remove the Victorian varnish from the oratorio Elijah, and has explored the frequently intense and dramatic world of the chamber works. Felix Mendelssohn 's Violin Concerto in E minor Op 64 is his last large orchestral work The Symphony No 4 in A major, Op 90, commonly known as the Italian, is an orchestral Symphony written by German Composer Elijah is an Oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1846 for the Birmingham Festival. Virtually all of Mendelssohn's published works are now available on CD.

Works

See also: List of compositions by Felix Mendelssohn and Category:Compositions by Felix Mendelssohn

Juvenilia and early works

The young Mendelssohn was greatly influenced in his childhood by the music of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart and these can all be seen, albeit often rather crudely, in the twelve early "symphonies", mainly written for performance in the Mendelssohn household and not published or publicly performed until long after his death. This is a list of compositions by Felix Mendelssohn. List of Compositions By Opus number ( Note the list includes works He wrote these from 1821 to 1823, when he was between the ages of 12 and 14 years old.

His astounding capacities are, however, clearly revealed in a clutch of works of his early maturity: the String Octet (1825), the Overture A Midsummer Night's Dream (1826) (which in its finished form owes much to the influence of Adolf Bernhard Marx, at the time a close friend of Mendelssohn), and the String Quartet in A minor (listed as no. Friedrich Heinrich Adolf Bernhard Marx ( Halle, Germany, 15 March 1795 – Berlin, 17 May, 1866) was a German 2 but written before no. 1) of 1827. These show an intuitive grasp of form, harmony, counterpoint, colour and the compositional technique of Beethoven, which justify claims frequently made that Mendelssohn's precocity exceeded even that of Mozart in its intellectual grasp. In Music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and Rhythm, and interdependent in Harmony ^[6]

Symphonies

The numbering of his mature symphonies is approximately in order of publishing, rather than of composition. The order of composition is: 1, 5, 4, 2, 3. (Because he worked on it for over a decade, the placement of No. 3 in this sequence is problematic; he started sketches for it soon after the No. 5, but completed it following both Nos. 5 and 4. )

The Symphony No. 1 in C minor for full-scale orchestra was written in 1824, when Mendelssohn was aged 15. The Symphony No 1 in C minor, Op 11 was completed by Felix Mendelssohn on March 31 1824, when Mendelssohn was only 15 years old This work is experimental, showing the influence of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" Ludwig van Beethoven ( English ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən, 16 December 1770 &ndash 26 March 1827 was a German Composer and Pianist. Mendelssohn conducted this symphony on his first visit to London in 1829 with the orchestra of the Royal Philharmonic Society. The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society formed in 1813 For the third movement he substituted an orchestration of the Scherzo from his Octet. In this form the piece was an outstanding success and laid the foundations of his British reputation.

During 1829 and 1830 Mendelssohn wrote his Symphony No. 5 in D Major, known as the Reformation. The Symphony No 5 in D Major, op 107 called the "Reformation" Symphony was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1832 in honor of the 300th anniversary It celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Lutheran Church. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Mendelssohn remained dissatisfied with the work and did not allow publication of the score.

The Scottish Symphony (Symphony No. 3 in A minor), was written and revised intermittently between 1830 and 1842. The Symphony No 3 in A Minor op 56 called the "Scottish" Symphony was composed by Felix Mendelssohn. This piece evokes Scotland's atmosphere in the ethos of Romanticism, but does not employ actual Scottish folk melodies. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Mendelssohn published the score of the symphony in 1842 in an arrangement for piano duet, and as a full orchestral score in 1843.

Mendelssohn's travels in Italy inspired him to write the Symphony No 4 in A major, known as the Italian. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Symphony No 4 in A major, Op 90, commonly known as the Italian, is an orchestral Symphony written by German Composer Mendelssohn conducted the premiere in 1833, but he did not allow this score to be published during his lifetime as he continually sought to rewrite it.

In 1840 Mendelssohn wrote the choral Symphony No. 2 in B flat Major, entitled Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise), and this score was published in 1841. A choral symphony is a large Musical composition, generally including an Orchestra, a Choir and soloists which adheres to some extent The Symphony No 2 in B flat major, op 52 called the "Lobgesang" (or "Hymn of Praise" Symphony was composed by Felix Mendelssohn.

Other orchestral music

Mendelssohn wrote the concert overture The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave) in 1830, inspired by visits he made to Scotland around the end of the 1820s. The Hebrides Overture (German Die Hebriden) opus 26 also known as Fingal's Cave, is a Concert overture composed by Felix Mendelssohn Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. He visited the cave, on the Hebridean isle of Staffa, as part of his Grand Tour of Europe, and was so impressed that he scribbled the opening theme of the overture on the spot, including it in a letter he wrote home the same evening. Fingal's Cave is a Sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, part of a National Nature Reserve owned See also Hebrides (disambiguation The Hebrides (ˈhɛbrɨˌdiːz "HEB-ri-deez" Gaelic: Innse Gall) comprise a widespread and diverse Staffa ( Scottish Gaelic: Stafa, s̪t̪afa from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and

Throughout his career he wrote a number of other concert overtures. Those most frequently played today include Ruy Blas (commissioned for a charity performance of Victor Hugo's drama, which Mendelssohn hated), Meerestille und Glückliche Fahrt (Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, inspired by the poem by Goethe), and The Fair Melusine. Victor-Marie Hugo ( ( February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) was a French Poet, Playwright, Novelist ˈjoːhan ˈvɔlfgaŋ fɔn ˈgøːtə (in English generally ˈgɝːtə 28 August 1749 22 March 1832 was a German writer Melusine (or Melusina) is a figure of European Legends and Folklore, a feminine spirit of fresh waters in sacred springs and rivers

The incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream (op. 61), including the well-known Wedding March, was written in 1843, seventeen years after the overture. Felix Mendelssohn 's " Wedding March " is one of the best known of the pieces that he wrote as incidental music for Shakespeare 's play A Midsummer

Opera

Mendelssohn wrote some Singspiels for family performance in his youth. For the racehorse see Singspiel (horse. Singspiel ("song-play" (plural Singspiele is a form of German-language His opera Die beiden Neffen was rehearsed for him on his fifteenth birthday. ^[7] In 1827 he wrote a more sophisticated work, Die Hochzeit von Camacho, based on an episode in Don Quixote, for public consumption. es '''''Don Quixote''''' (, see spelling and pronunciation below fully titled es '''''El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha''''' ("The Ingenious Hidalgo Don It was produced in Berlin in 1827. Mendelssohn left the theatre before the conclusion of the first performance, and subsequent performances were cancelled.

Although he never abandoned the idea of composing a full opera, and considered many subjects - including that of the Nibelung saga later adapted by Wagner - he never wrote more than a few pages of sketches for any project. The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. In his last years the manager Benjamin Lumley tried to contract him to write an opera on The Tempest on a libretto by Eugène Scribe, and even announced it as forthcoming in the year of Mendelssohn's death. Benjamin Lumley, Opera manager and solicitor was born Benjamin Levy in 1811 the son of a Jewish merchant Louis Levy and died 17 March, 1875 The Tempest is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It is generally dated to 1610-11 and accepted as the last play written solely by him although Augustin Eugène Scribe ( December 24, 1791 – February 20, 1861) was a French dramatist and Librettist. The libretto was eventually set by Fromental Halévy. Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy ( May 27, 1799 - March 17, 1862) (usually known as Fromental Halévy was a French composer At his death Mendelssohn left some sketches for an opera on the story of Lorelei. The Loreley (also written as Lorelei) is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St

Concertos

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. Felix Mendelssohn 's Violin Concerto in E minor Op 64 is his last large orchestral work 64 (1844), written for Ferdinand David, has become one of the most popular of all of Mendelssohn's compositions. Many violinists have commenced their solo careers with a performance of this concerto, including Jascha Heifetz, who gave his first public performance of the piece at the age of seven. Jascha Heifetz (ˈhaɪfɪts was a Lithuanian born American Violin Virtuoso ( &ndash December 10, 1987)

Mendelssohn also wrote two piano concertos, a less well known, early, violin concerto (D Minor), two concertos for two pianos and orchestra and a double concerto for piano and violin. In addition, there are several works for soloist and orchestra in one movement. Those for piano are the Rondo Brillant, Op. 29 of 1834; the Capriccio Brillant, Op. 22 of 1832; and the Serenade and Allegro Giojoso Op. 43 of 1838. Opp. 113 and 114 are Konzertstücke (concerto movements, originally for clarinet, basset horn and piano, that were orchestrated and performed in that form in Mendelssohn's lifetime. The clarinet is a Musical instrument in the Woodwind family The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word The basset horn or tenor clarinet (sometimes written basset-horn) is a Musical instrument, a member of the Clarinet family Orchestration is the study or practice of writing Music for Orchestra (or more loosely for any Musical ensemble) or of adapting for orchestra music composed

Chamber Music

Mendelssohn's mature output contains many chamber works, many of which display an emotional intensity that some people think his larger works lack. In particular his String Quartet No. 6, his last string quartet and major work, written following the death of his sister Fanny, is both powerful and eloquent. The String Quartet No 6 in F minor, Op. 80 was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1847 and is essentially his last major composition Felix Mendelssohn wrote six numbered String quartets which were published during his lifetime String Quartet No Other works include two string quintets, sonatas for the clarinet, cello, viola and violin, two piano trios and three piano quartets. A string quintet is an ensemble of five String instrument players or a piece written for such a combination The clarinet is a Musical instrument in the Woodwind family The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word The violoncello (abbreviated to cello, or 'cello, plural cellos or celli —the c is tʃ Felix Mendelssohn 's Viola Sonata in C minor was composed when he was only 14 years old The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member A piano trio is a group of Piano and two other instruments usually a Violin and a Cello, or a piece of Music written for such a group A piano quartet is a Musical ensemble consisting of a Piano and three other instruments or a piece written for such a group For the Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Mendelssohn unusually took the advice of a fellow-composer, (Ferdinand Hiller) and rewrote the piano part in a more romantic, 'Schumannesque' style, considerably heightening its effect. Felix Mendelssohn 's Piano Trio No 1 in D minor Op 49 was completed on 23 September 1839 and published the following year WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Ferdinand (von Hiller ( 24 October 1811 &ndash Robert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann (June 8 1810 &ndash July 29 1856 was a German Composer, Aesthete and influential Music critic

Choral

The two large biblical oratorios, St Paul in 1836 and Elijah in 1846, are greatly influenced by Bach. An oratorio is a large Musical composition including an Orchestra, a Choir, and soloists The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the Opera Paulus (in English St Paul) is the title of an Oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Elijah is an Oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1846 for the Birmingham Festival. From the unfinished oratorio, Christus, the chorus "There Shall a Star Come out of Jacob" (which together with the preceding recitative and male trio comprises all of the existing material from that work) is sometimes performed. Recitative /rɛsɪtə'tiv/ (also known by its Italian name "recitativo" (/retʃita'tivo/ is a style of delivery (much used in Operas Oratorios

Strikingly different is the more overtly 'romantic' Die erste Walpurgisnacht (The First Walpurgis Night), a setting for chorus and orchestra of a ballad by Goethe describing pagan rituals of the Druids in the Harz mountains in the early days of Christianity. Die erste Walpurgisnacht (The First Walpurgis Night) is a Cantata for Choir and Orchestra written by Felix Mendelssohn. ˈjoːhan ˈvɔlfgaŋ fɔn ˈgøːtə (in English generally ˈgɝːtə 28 August 1749 22 March 1832 was a German writer Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller rustic" is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world A druid was a member of the priestly and learned class in the ancient Celtic societies The Harz is a mountain range in central Germany It is the highest mountain chain in northern Germany occupying parts of the German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt This remarkable score has been seen by the scholar Heinz-Klaus Metzger as a "Jewish protest against the domination of Christianity".

Mendelssohn also wrote many smaller-scale sacred works for unaccompanied choir and for choir with organ. Some were written, and most have been translated into English, and remain highly popular. Perhaps the most famous is Hear My Prayer, with its second half containing 'O for the Wings of a Dove', which became extremely popular as a separate item. Hear My Prayer (German Hör' mein Bitten is a Christian Anthem for soprano chorus and organ or orchestra ( SATB) written by Felix Mendelssohn The piece is written for full choir, organ, and a treble or soprano soloist who has many challenging and extended solo passages. A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the Soprano range This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. As such, it is a particular favourite for choirboys in churches and cathedrals, and has perhaps been recorded more than any other treble solo.

The hymn tune Mendelssohn—an adaptation by William Hayman Cummings of a melody from Mendelssohn's cantata Festgesang—is the standard tune for Charles Wesley's popular hymn Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. A hymn tune is a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung William Hayman Cummings ( August 22, 1831 &ndash June 10, 1915) born in Sid­bu­ry (near Sidmouth) in Devon, was an Biography Charles Wesley was the son of Susanna Wesley and Samuel Wesley. A hymn is a type of Song, usually religious specifically written for the purpose of praise adoration or Prayer, and typically addressed to a deity/deities " Hark! The Herald Angels Sing " is a Christmas Hymn or carol written by Charles Wesley, the brother of John Wesley. This extract from an originally secular 1840s composition, which Mendelssohn felt unsuited to sacred music, is thus ubiquitous at Christmas.

Songs

Mendelssohn wrote many songs, both for solo voice and for duet, with piano. Many of these are simple, or slightly modified, strophic settings. In Music, strophic form (or chorus form) is a sectional and/or Additive way of structuring a piece of Music based on the Such songs as Auf Flügeln des Gesanges ("On Wings of Song") became popular. On Wings of Song is a 1979 Science fiction Novel by Thomas M Disch.

A number of songs written by Mendelssohn's sister Fanny originally appeared under her brother's name; this was partly due to the prejudice of the family, and partly to her own diffidence.

Piano

Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words), eight cycles each containing six lyric pieces (2 published posthumously), remain his most famous solo piano compositions. Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words is a series of eight books each consisting of six "songs" written for the solo Piano by Romantic composer They became standard parlour recital items, and their overwhelming popularity has caused many critics to under-rate their musical value. Other composers who were inspired to produce similar pieces of their own included Charles Valentin Alkan (the five sets of Chants, each ending with a barcarolle), Anton Rubinstein, Ignaz Moscheles and Edvard Grieg. Charles-Valentin Alkan ( November 30 1813 &ndash March 29 1888) was a French Composer and one of the greatest Virtuoso A barcarolle (from French; also Italian barcarola, barcarole) is a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, or a piece of This article is about the 19th century Russian pianist and composer (Isaac Ignaz Moscheles ( May 23, 1794 &ndash March 10, 1870) was a Bohemian Composer and Piano Virtuoso

Other notable piano pieces by Mendelssohn include his Variations sérieuses op. 54 (1841), the Seven Characteristic Pieces op. 7 (1827), the Rondo Capriccioso and the set of six Preludes and Fugues op. 35 (written between 1832 and 1837).

Organ

Mendelssohn played the organ and composed for it from the age of 11 to his death. His primary organ works are the Three Preludes and Fugues, Op. 37 (1837), and the Six Sonatas, Op. 65 (1845).

Media

Media files for the Scottish Symphony, Italian Symphony, Violin Concerto, second Cello Sonata and some of the Songs without Words, can be found in their dedicated articles. The Symphony No 3 in A Minor op 56 called the "Scottish" Symphony was composed by Felix Mendelssohn. The Symphony No 4 in A major, Op 90, commonly known as the Italian, is an orchestral Symphony written by German Composer Felix Mendelssohn 's Violin Concerto in E minor Op 64 is his last large orchestral work Felix Mendelssohn 's Cello Sonata No 2 in D major, Op. 58 was composed in June 1843 Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words is a series of eight books each consisting of six "songs" written for the solo Piano by Romantic composer

Scores and Recordings

• Mendelssohn was listed in the International Music Score Library Project
• Mendelssohn scores at MutopiaProject. The International Music Score Library Project ( IMSLP) is a project for the creation of a virtual library of Public domain music scores, based on the org
• Free scores by Felix Mendelssohn in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
• Felix Mendelssohn free scores in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Kunst der Fuge: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy - (Live)
• BBC Radio 3 Classical Study and musical links
• Trio C-Minor op. 66 - streaming webcast performed by Panufnik Trio
• Mendelssohn's page at Classical Archives
• www.kreusch-sheet-music.net - Free Scores by Mendelssohn
• Mendelssohn cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library
• Preludes and Fugues Op. 35: Fugue #1 streaming file performed by Dr. The Werner Icking Music Archive, often abbreviated WIMA, is a web archive of Public domain Sheet music. The Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL is a Sheet music archive which focuses on choral and vocal Music in the Public domain. Classical Archives is a large classical music commercial Website on the Internet. The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California Santa Barbara Libraries with streaming and downloadable The University of California Santa Barbara ( UCSB) is a selective research-oriented public university located on the Pacific Ocean in Santa Barbara County California Willis G. Miller III.

See also

• Itzig family
• Abraham Mendelssohn

Notes

References

External links

• Complete Edition: Leipzig Edition of the Works of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (in German).
• www.kreusch-sheet-music.net – Free Scores by Felix Mendelssohn
• Felix Mendelssohn House and Foundation, Leipzig
• Works by or about Felix Mendelssohn in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• The Mendelssohn Project A project with the objective of "recording of the complete published and unpublished works of Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn". WorldCat is a Union catalog which itemizes the collections of more than 10000 libraries which participate in the OCLC global cooperative
• Complete recording of Songs without Words by Daniel Gortler

Persondata
NAME	Mendelssohn, Felix
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
SHORT DESCRIPTION	German composer
DATE OF BIRTH	February 3, 1809
PLACE OF BIRTH	Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH	November 4, 1847
PLACE OF DEATH	Leipzig

Daniel Gortler is an acclaimed Israeli Pianist and a faculty member of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel-Aviv University. Events 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry uniting the fortunes of those two states Year 1809 ( MDCCCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Events 1333 - Flood of the Arno River, causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani Year 1847 ( MDCCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common

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