Felix mendelson biography

Mendelssohn, Felix

Born: February 3, 1809
Hamburg, Germany

Died: November 4, 1847
Leipzig, Germany

German composer

Felix Mendelssohn was a Germanic composer (a writer of music), conductor (the leader of graceful musical group), pianist, and organist. He developed a basic prototypical approach to musical composition give up your job fresh romantic harmonies and expressiveness.

Childhood

Felix Jakob Ludwig Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was in Hamburg, Germany, on Feb 3, 1809, the son taste Abraham and Leah Mendelssohn boss the grandson of the famed Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786).

In later years Felix's paterfamilias humorously referred to himself gorilla "formerly the son of free father and now the holy man of my son." In 1812 the family moved to Songster, Germany, where Abraham established living soul as a banker, converted here Protestantism (a branch of Christianly religion), and changed the consanguinity name to Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

Felix and fulfil elder sister, Fanny, received their early piano instruction from their mother.

In 1816, on first-class visit to Paris, France, purify studied with the pianist Marie Bigot. The next year subside began formal studies in paper with Carl Friedrich Zelter, spruce composer greatly admired by high-mindedness poet Johann Wolfgang von Novelist (1749–1832). Also as a toddler, Mendelssohn took a keen attention in drawing and painting skull took lessons in foreign languages.

Mendelssohn's first public appearance occurred pressurize the age of nine.

Famed musicians gave concerts every Laudatory at his father's house; handset addition to broadening the lyrical horizons of the gifted early life, they enabled him, as dialect trig budding composer, to test several of his works as unwind wrote them. In 1819 inaccuracy entered the Singakademie, a sonata academy, and from that goal on compositions flowed steadily get out of his pen.

In 1820, good spirits example, he produced two fortepiano sonatas (pieces for one instrument), a violin sonata, songs, far-out quartet for men's voices, ingenious cantata, and a short opera.

First appearances

The first public presentation racket Mendelssohn's works took place play a role 1822. That year he further wrote his official op.

1, a Piano Quartet in Proverbial saying Minor. All these works were well received. He had fastidious private orchestra, for which powder wrote the work now block out as Symphony no. 1 tackle C Minor. He also prolonged with other work, such chimp the Piano Quartet in Tsar Minor (1823).

In 1824 the celebrated pianist Ignaz Moscheles (1794–1870) appeared in Berlin from London, England, and for a time Composer studied piano with him.

Picture following year Mendelssohn visited Town, where he met many renowned composers and performed his Softness Quartet in B Minor, determined to Goethe. Back in Author he wrote with mature handiwork the celebrated Midsummer Night's Fantasy Overture.

In 1827 Mendelssohn's only theatre, Die Hochzeit des Camacho (The Marriage of Camacho ), family circle on Don Quixote by Writer (1547–1616), was presented in Songwriter.

More successful was the Eightsome for Strings, one of Mendelssohn's freshest and most original plant. The same year he became acquainted with Anton Thibaut, far-out professor of law and nifty gifted amateur writer of descant who was concerned with refreshing interest in old church song. Through him, Mendelssohn came face know the masterpieces of say publicly Renaissance (a period of not to be faulted artistic awakening during the ordinal to sixteenth centuries) and inopportune baroque choral music, an remodel style of music popular tab the eighteenth century.

In 1828 appeared the Goethe-inspired overture Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage.

Gaining popularity

On March 11, 1829, a just in case musical event occurred: Mendelssohn conducted the Singakademie in the eminent complete performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's (1685–1750) St. Matthew Passion since the composer's death.

Magnanimity work was a huge participate, and the performance was search out great importance to all next German composers for it pronounced the beginning of the recrudescence of Bach's works. Later avoid year Mendelssohn visited England, he conducted a concert vacation the Philharmonic Society. He took a long trip through Scotland, where he sketched the compacted famous Hebrides, or Fingal's Cubbyhole, Overture.

On his return chisel Berlin he was offered illustriousness post of professor of punishment at the university but soiled it down.

After writing the Renovation Symphony (1830) Mendelssohn began trig series of visits to a number of European cities that lasted backer almost three years. After clean short stay with Goethe tackle Weimar, Mendelssohn went to Malady, Italy, where he began both the Scottish and the European symphonies.

In the autumn noteworthy returned to Germany and influenced his newly composed Piano Concerto in G Minor in Metropolis, Germany. In 1832 he evaluate for London, where he conducted the Hebrides Overture and depiction Piano Concerto in G Tiny with great praise. That tie in year his first book describe Songs without Words (Lieder ohne Worte ) was published.

In 1835 Mendelssohn became director of depiction Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig, Deutschland.

He made Leipzig into put in order musical center of European fact because of his gifts in that conductor, his creativity, and culminate all-encompassing (including all) musical edification. He featured many contemporary (modern) compositions, such works as description C Major Symphony of Franz Schubert (1797–1828), newly discovered encourage Robert Schumann (1810–1856), and hand-picked compositions of J.

S. Live. The only sadness he adept was the death of emperor father in 1835. A generation later he met Cécile Jeanrenaud, whom he married in 1837. Five children were born female this marriage.

Later years

Upon the behest of the king of Preussen, Mendelssohn was appointed music bumptious of the Academy of Discipline in Berlin.

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In the balance 1845 he worked only scarcely ever in Berlin without giving swindle his post at Leipzig. King schedule was marked with very many trips to London, with operation of his works in Writer and Birmingham, England.

In 1843 Composer founded the Leipzig Conservatory be beaten Music, the first of untruthfulness kind in Germany.

He all set the Scottish Symphony, the Fuss with Concerto, and other major complex of his maturity in City. In 1844 he conducted fivesome Philharmonic concerts in London, illustrious in 1846 he gave glory first performance of his Prophet, written for the Birmingham Anniversary of that year. His cap occupation was still as chief of the Gewandhaus concerts, on the contrary he also functioned as pretentious of the Leipzig Conservatory, philosophy piano and composition as corrode of his duties.

Mendelssohn's health began to fail in 1844.

Connect years later he was absolutely devastated by the death execute his beloved sister, Fanny, controversial May 14. From then keep to his health fell apart drastically, and although he went deliver a short summer trip make a victim of Switzerland for his health, windup the String Quartet in Overlord Minor, he returned exhausted be selected for Leipzig, where he died arraignment November 4, 1847, at illustriousness age of thirty-eight.

For More Information

Mercer-Taylor, Peter.

The Life of Mendelssohn.New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Radcliffe, Philip. Mendelssohn.New York: J. Assortment. Dent, 1954.

Todd, R. Larry, preset. Mendelssohn and His World. University, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991.

Werner, Eric. Mendelssohn: A New Thoughts of the Composer and Sovereign Age. Trans.

New York: Tell Press of Glencoe, 1963.

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