Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847)

Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847) - photo 1

Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn (full name Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy) was a German composer, pianist, conductor, teacher, and one of the greatest representatives of Romanticism in music.

Felix was born into a Jewish musical family that later converted to Christianity. He received a versatile education and already as a child wrote many musical compositions, including 5 operas, 11 symphonies for string orchestra, concertos, sonatas and fugues. Mendelssohn's first public performance took place in Berlin in 1818, when he was nine years old. In 1821 Mendelssohn was introduced to J.W. von Goethe, for whom he performed works by J.S. Bach and Mozart and to whom he dedicated his Piano Quartet No. 3 in B minor. A friendship developed between the famous wise poet and the 12-year-old musician.

A few years later, the talented musician began conducting in various orchestras in Europe, and became acquainted with Carl Weber. In England, where Mendelssohn visited very often, by the middle of the 19th century his music had become very popular, even with Queen Victoria he was the most favorite composer. He dedicated his Symphony No. 3 in A minor major (Scottish Symphony) to the Queen.

Among Mendelssohn's most famous works are A Midsummer Night's Dream (1826), the Italian Symphony (1833), a violin concerto (1844), two piano concertos (1831, 1837), the oratorio Elijah (1846) and several chamber pieces. The tradition of playing the "Wedding March" from A Midsummer Night's Dream in wedding processions dates back to its performance at the wedding of a royal princess in 1858, already after Mendelssohn's death.

In 1843, Mendelssohn founded a conservatory in Leipzig, where he taught composition with Schumann. Mendelssohn was one of the first great Romantic composers of the nineteenth century.

Date and place of birt:3 february 1809, Hamburg, Germany
Date and place of death:4 november 1847, Leipzig, Germany
Period of activity: XIX century
Specialization:Composer, Educator
Art style:Romanticism

Creators Romanticism

Francis Holman (1729 - 1784)
Francis Holman
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Cölestin Brügner (1824 - 1887)
Cölestin Brügner
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Sean Keating (1889 - 1977)
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1889 - 1977
Luidzhi (Lyudvig Osipovich) Prematstsi (1814 - 1891)
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Gustav Friedrich Keleti (1834 - 1902)
Gustav Friedrich Keleti
1834 - 1902
Robert Édouard Pitot (1778 - 1860)
Robert Édouard Pitot
1778 - 1860
Léon Légat (1829 - ?)
Léon Légat
1829 - ?
Peter Ludwig Kühnen (1812 - 1877)
Peter Ludwig Kühnen
1812 - 1877
Edmund Darch Lewis (1835 - 1910)
Edmund Darch Lewis
1835 - 1910
Auguste Mayer (1805 - 1890)
Auguste Mayer
1805 - 1890
Vittorio Avondo (1836 - 1910)
Vittorio Avondo
1836 - 1910
Arthur Warocqué (1835 - 1880)
Arthur Warocqué
1835 - 1880
Sidney Richard Percy (1822 - 1886)
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1822 - 1886
Joaquin Dominguez Becker (1817 - 1879)
Joaquin Dominguez Becker
1817 - 1879
Josef Resch (1819 - 1901)
Josef Resch
1819 - 1901
Ferdinand Leeke (1859 - 1937)
Ferdinand Leeke
1859 - 1937