Felix Mendelssohn

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

German composer, pianist, conductor, and educator of Jewish origin, one of the most significant figures of musical Romanticism and the leading representative of the Leipzig school. Founder of the Leipzig Conservatory and grandson of philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. Born in Hamburg on 3 February 1809, he grew up in a family that, though Jewish by origin, converted to Lutheranism and adopted the additional surname Bartholdy. The Mendelssohn household was a cultural hub that hosted luminaries such as Friedrich Hegel and composer Carl Zelter, who became Felix’s first major teacher and recognized his exceptional gifts.

Mendelssohn studied piano, violin, and composition from a young age, giving public performances by nine and writing substantial works by his early teens. He also received lessons from Ludwig Berger and made an early vocal debut, possessing a fine alto voice. His early career was marked by encounters with Goethe, Weber, Cherubini, and other leading cultural figures of the era; he visited Goethe several times, performed for him, and set a number of his poems to music. His adolescent output included string symphonies, chamber works, and early concertos, as well as the opera Die Hochzeit des Camacho, whose disappointing reception discouraged him from further operatic ventures.

During the 1820s he composed major early works, including the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1826), and played a central role in reviving interest in J. S. Bach’s music by conducting the first performance of the St Matthew Passion since Bach’s death. His performance, prepared in cooperation with Eduard Devrient, became a landmark event in European musical culture and contributed significantly to the Bach revival. He also undertook university studies in Berlin, attending lectures by Hegel, Eduard Gans, and Carl Ritter.

His career unfolded as that of an internationally acclaimed pianist, conductor, and composer. Extensive tours across Europe — England, Scotland, Italy, France — led to some of his best-known works (Hebrides Overture, Italian and Scottish symphonies). His visits to Britain became central to his career; he traveled there ten times, conducted major premieres, and was warmly received by audiences. Encounters with leading musicians such as Liszt and Chopin in Paris, as well as friendships with Ignaz Moscheles and other major figures, widened his artistic circle.

In Leipzig, where he became music director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1835, Mendelssohn elevated the city into one of Europe’s great musical centers. He promoted historic repertoire, including works by Handel, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, and premiered Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony after its rediscovery by Robert Schumann. In 1843 he founded the Leipzig Conservatory, inviting leading musicians such as Robert Schumann, Ferdinand David, and Ignaz Moscheles to teach there, and educating a new generation of performers, including the Belgian violinist Hubert Léonard.

His sacred works, especially the oratorios St Paul and Elijah, secured his international fame. His violin concerto in E minor (1844) is considered one of the greatest in the repertoire, and his Songs Without Words became classics of the Romantic piano literature. He also wrote incidental music to Antigone, Oedipus, and a complete score for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1843), which includes the celebrated Wedding March.

In his personal life, Mendelssohn married Cécile Jeanrenaud in 1837; they had five children. During his later years he formed an intense but ultimately unfulfilled emotional attachment to the Swedish soprano Jenny Lind, whom he supported professionally. Lind later established the Felix Mendelssohn Scholarship (1849) in his memory.

His final years were shadowed by emotional turmoil, the death of his sister Fanny, and declining health. After suffering two strokes, he died in Leipzig on 4 November 1847 at the age of 38. According to his wishes, he was buried in Berlin beside his sister in the Mendelssohn family plot at the Trinity Cemetery. The house in Leipzig where he died is now the Mendelssohn Museum.

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