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

Adolf Henning (1809 - 1900)
Adolf Henning
1809 - 1900
Ludwig Johann Passini (1832 - 1903)
Ludwig Johann Passini
1832 - 1903
William Trost Richards (1833 - 1905)
William Trost Richards
1833 - 1905
Guillaume van der Hecht (1817 - 1891)
Guillaume van der Hecht
1817 - 1891
Robert Ronald McIan (1803 - 1856)
Robert Ronald McIan
1803 - 1856
Jan Philip Koelman (1818 - 1893)
Jan Philip Koelman
1818 - 1893
Wilhelm Porttmann (1819 - 1893)
Wilhelm Porttmann
1819 - 1893
Christian Ernst Bernhard Morgenstern (1805 - 1867)
Christian Ernst Bernhard Morgenstern
1805 - 1867
Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857)
Alfred de Musset
1810 - 1857
Carl Hasenpflug (1802 - 1858)
Carl Hasenpflug
1802 - 1858
Auguste Aiguier (1814 - 1865)
Auguste Aiguier
1814 - 1865
Karl Petrovich Beggrov (1799 - 1875)
Karl Petrovich Beggrov
1799 - 1875
Jan Mateiko (1838 - 1893)
Jan Mateiko
1838 - 1893
Francis Augustus Silva (1835 - 1886)
Francis Augustus Silva
1835 - 1886
Jean-Baptiste Fresez (1800 - 1867)
Jean-Baptiste Fresez
1800 - 1867
Carl Heinrich Adolph Grimm (1799 - 1843)
Carl Heinrich Adolph Grimm
1799 - 1843
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