Music

Felix Mendelssohn

1809–1847 · German

Romantic

Mendelssohn was a German prodigy whose polish and melodic grace combined Classical form with Romantic feeling. Composer, pianist and conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus, he revived Bach's St Matthew Passion in 1829 and was a favourite of Victorian Britain.

How to spot them

▸Light, fleet, elfin scherzo textures and clear Classical proportions
▸Travel-inspired pictures: Scottish mists, Italian sunshine, a Hebridean sea cave
▸Clues about a child prodigy, Queen Victoria, the Wedding March or the revival of Bach

Key works — listen

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Overture, Op. 21, and incidental music, Op. 61 (incl. Wedding March) (1826 / 1842)

Overture written at 17; the later incidental music contains the famous Wedding March

Recording: European Archive · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave), Op. 26 (1830 (rev. 1832))

Concert overture inspired by his 1829 visit to Staffa

Recording: Felix Mendelssohn · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, "Italian" (1833)

Sunny, bustling opening; the finale is a Neapolitan saltarello

Recording: Felix Mendelssohn · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, "Scottish" (1842)

Conceived at Holyrood in 1829; dedicated to Queen Victoria

Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 (1844)

The soloist enters almost at once; written for Ferdinand David

Elijah, Op. 70 (1846)

Oratorio premiered in English at the Birmingham Festival

Quick-fire facts

•He was the grandson of the Jewish Enlightenment philosopher Moses Mendelssohn; his sister Fanny Hensel was also a composer.
•He wrote his String Octet in E-flat, Op. 20, in 1825 at the age of 16.
•In 1829 he conducted the first performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion since Bach's death, sparking the Bach revival.
•He became conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1835 and founded the Leipzig Conservatory in 1843.
•His Wedding March became a wedding standard after its use at the marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal, in 1858.
•His piano pieces Lieder ohne Worte are known in English as Songs Without Words.
•He made ten visits to Britain and played for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
•He died in Leipzig in 1847 aged 38, months after the death of his sister Fanny.

Drill it — 9 cards

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Sources

Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press) — Mendelssohn(-Bartholdy), (Jacob Ludwig) Felix
Encyclopaedia Britannica — Felix Mendelssohn