Felix Mendelssohn Essay

Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, Ger adult maley on February 3, 1809. He was one of intrave zero(prenominal)s feeding children, arse, Rebekah, and Paul were his siblings. He showed off his genius at a young geezerhood by playing the piano, violin, painting and dexterous in m either languages. When he locomote to Berlin, Felix studied piano and composition infra Ludwig Berger and Karl F. Zelter. Zelter took his 12 year old bookman to visit Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German poet. Goethe was genuinely fascinated by the young man and later heard his B small(a) pianoforte quartet and showed such custody that Mendelssohn dedicated the piece to Goethe. Not merely did Mendelssohn find inspiration in the work of Goethe, but he also was divine byt the whole kit of William Shakespeare. At the age of 17, he self-possessed the overture to A midsummer Nights intake report 21. Mendelssohn then went on to hear at Berlin University where he decided that medical specialty was his passion and chosen profession. After his college years, Mendelssohn traveled and performed all around Europe. In 1812 he visited capital of the United Kingdom, a city where he quite a enjoyed performing, and he performed his Hebrides Overture. In 1833, he took on the erect of contractor at Dsseldorf, giving concert performances of Handels Messiah among others. That same year, he tranquilized many of his own vocal works, including Lord, pitch Mercy Upon Us,, and the Opera, Trala. A frischer Bua bin i, as well as the Italian Symphony (Todd). At the age of 26, Mendelssohn locomote to Leipzig and became conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He performed works by bachelor and Beethoven but at the judgment of conviction was not really fire in Bachs music. aboriginal in 1829, Mendelssohn had made his debut as a Maestro. He was the first to conduct Bachs St. Matthew Passion since the composers death in 1750. In 1832, Mendelssohn hook up with Ccile Jeanrenaud, t he daughter of a Protestant clergyman. They had quintuple children, Carl, Marie, Paul, Felix and Lilli. Over the years that followed, he gave many booming performances of his work, and those of other commodious composers as well. Mendelssohn composed numerous works for the piano, which was pretty popular at the time.In 1843, Mendelssohn founded and directed the Leipzig Conservatory, where he also taught if his cross schedule allowed it. In addition to his post at the Conservatory, Mendelssohn was named director of the Music component of the Academy of Arts in Berlin by King Frederick of Prussia, but this appointment wasnt entirely pleasing for Mendelssohn, who was often asked to compose on demand. He was left with small-minded time for his own work, but he still managed to compose such masterpieces as the Ruy Blas overture, stage music for Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream, of which the now world-famous Wedding March was a part of, and The Scottish Symphony, the triplet of the five symphonies he composed during his life sentence (Lewis). Felix Mendelssohn was very close to his family. From his child Fanny to his father, to his own wife and children, and he hold dear the moments spent with them. When his father died in 1835, Mendelssohn matte like he had lost his best friend. Seven years later, his mother died, adding to the tragedy. His sister Fanny suffered a stroke age rehearsing for a Sunday concert. She died on may 14th, 1847. He himself suffered two strokes, the last of which killed him on November 4th, 1847. He was 38 years old. He was buried alongside his sister in the cemetery of Holy Cross church service in Berlin. Some critics may turn over that he would have been another Bach or Mozart if he had suffered more in life, as the tortured artist clich dictates. Schuman concord with Mendelssohn on one thing criticism. To a certain extent the German dry land has recovered from one mistake in judgment the tendency to evaluate Schuman above Mendelssohn was a very long time mistakable ( grove). Nearly a hundred years after his death, the Nazis tried to discredit him, fetching down his statue in Leipzig, and even red ink as far as nix the study and performance of his music (Lewis). Of course, no(prenominal) of their efforts to silence the voice of genius had any success, and Mendelssohn is now considered the 19th century alike of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mendelssohn will remain the most successful composer of his time, surely deserving a focalise alongside greats such as Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven. He was most known for Violin Concerto in E Minor, incidental music for A Midsummer Nights Dream, five symphonies, including no. 3 Italian and no. 4 Scottish and the oratorios Elijah and St. Paul.Works CitedGrove, George, and Stanley Sadie. Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London MacMillan Publishers, 1980. Print. Lewis, Ronald. Felix Mendelssohn Biography. Felix Mendelsohn.com. 2002. Web. 15 March 2012. http//www.felixmendelssohn.com/felix_mendelssohn_bio_001.htm Todd, R. Larry. Mendelssohn A flavor in Music. New York Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.