Born Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy on February 3rd, 1809, the master musician known to most simply as Felix Mendelssohn would in his short life span come to be recognized as one of the most prominent composers of his time – not only in his native Germany, but throughout the musical world. Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg Germany to Abraham (a wealthy banker) and Lea (an amateur pianist) Mendelssohn. He descended from famous lineage, for his grandfather was the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn who was known as the father of Reform Judaism and to whose ideas the ‘Jewish Enlightenment’ of the eighteenth and nineteenth century which promulgated religious tolerance is indebted.
Though his family was a prominent one, being Jewish was not the most fashionable thing in early nineteenth century Germany, and so Felix’s father made the decision that his four children – Fanny, Felix, Rebecca and Paul should be brought up in the Christian tradition. They were baptized into Protestantism on March 21, 1816 using the surname Mendelssohn Bartholdy – the latter being the name which Lea’s brother had adopted upon his conversion to Christianity sometime earlier because of its non-Jewish connotations. Abraham and Leah were themselves baptized into Christianity a few years later in 1822.
Because she was a trained musician and artist, Felix’s mother Leah oversaw his early musical education. On visits to Paris in 1816 and 1817, he and his sister Fanny, with whom he shared a very close bond, took piano lessons from Madame Marie Bigot (a gifted and stimulating teacher who had been admired by both Haydn and Beethoven for her technique) as well as being afforded the opportunity to play chamber music with violinist Pierre Bailot. In 1817 the children met their aunt Dorothea von Schlegel who reported that “Felix played with genius and Fanny with a virtuosity beyond all comprehension.”[1] On their return to Germany from Paris, their education continued in earnest. According to Radcliffe (2000), only on Sunday mornings were the children allowed to wake up later than 5:00 am. Their teachers during this period included Karl Heyse (general and literary subjects), Ludwig Berger (piano), Carl Henning (violin), Carl Zelter (harmony and composition) as well as Samuel Rosel (drawing). This latter subject that was a favorite occupation of Felix, and one at which he became quite accomplished.[2]
Though his family was a prominent one, being Jewish was not the most fashionable thing in early nineteenth century Germany, and so Felix’s father made the decision that his four children – Fanny, Felix, Rebecca and Paul should be brought up in the Christian tradition. They were baptized into Protestantism on March 21, 1816 using the surname Mendelssohn Bartholdy – the latter being the name which Lea’s brother had adopted upon his conversion to Christianity sometime earlier because of its non-Jewish connotations. Abraham and Leah were themselves baptized into Christianity a few years later in 1822.
Because she was a trained musician and artist, Felix’s mother Leah oversaw his early musical education. On visits to Paris in 1816 and 1817, he and his sister Fanny, with whom he shared a very close bond, took piano lessons from Madame Marie Bigot (a gifted and stimulating teacher who had been admired by both Haydn and Beethoven for her technique) as well as being afforded the opportunity to play chamber music with violinist Pierre Bailot. In 1817 the children met their aunt Dorothea von Schlegel who reported that “Felix played with genius and Fanny with a virtuosity beyond all comprehension.”[1] On their return to Germany from Paris, their education continued in earnest. According to Radcliffe (2000), only on Sunday mornings were the children allowed to wake up later than 5:00 am. Their teachers during this period included Karl Heyse (general and literary subjects), Ludwig Berger (piano), Carl Henning (violin), Carl Zelter (harmony and composition) as well as Samuel Rosel (drawing). This latter subject that was a favorite occupation of Felix, and one at which he became quite accomplished.[2]
Considered a prodigious talent from early on, at 8, Felix performed J.L. Dussek's ‘Military’ Concerto from memory. However this feat was eclipsed by Fanny’s own rendition of 24 Preludes from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier at age 13 - also from memory. By 1820, when he was 11 years old, Felix had already composed a considerable amount of music – including a trio for piano and strings, a sonata for piano and violin and two solo piano sonatas. His first major work (also composed at 11) was the music (an overture and 11 numbers) for the Singspiel Die Soldatenliebschaft, which took him 4 months to compose. After the success of this initial work, he was able to dispatch his second Singspiel in just 6 weeks.
There were two major events that in the following years that helped to chart the course of Mendelssohn’s success. The first occurred in 1821 when his teacher Zelter accompanied Felix to Weimar meet the famous German poet Goethe, who was to act as a friend and mentor to him in later years. This two-week visit was to prove both inspirational and influential to his musical and intellectual development. The other significant event was when in 1823 Felix received from his Grandmother Bella Salomon a copy of Bach’s St. Mathew Passion as a Christmas present. After 5 years of preparation, he later revived the work in a celebrated performance at the Berlin Singakademie on March 11, 1829 when he was 20 years old. This performance was hailed as a tremendous success, and is credited with the revival of Bach’s work in Germany and subsequently throughout Europe and worldwide.
Though home-schooled by some of the finest teachers available, his mother didn't think this was enough, and so in the summer of 1827, Mendelssohn attended the University of Berlin to receive the education she found so often lacking in musicians. While there he attended the lectures by Eduard Gans in legal history, Carl Ritter in geography, and, during the winter semester of 1828–9, Hegel's lectures on aesthetics.[3]
Between terms he vacationed with friends to several places throughout Germany including the Harz Mountains, Thuringia, Franconia and finally Heidelberg where he sketched, worked on his String Quartet in A Minor Op. 13, and also met and worked with several notable musicians including Gottfried Weber and Lindpaintner.
[1] Larry R. Todd, "Mendelssohn, Felix." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed September 30, 2013, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/51795
[2] Philip Radcliffe. The Master Musicians: Mendelssohn. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000
[3] Larry R. Todd, "Mendelssohn, Felix." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed September 30, 2013, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/51795
There were two major events that in the following years that helped to chart the course of Mendelssohn’s success. The first occurred in 1821 when his teacher Zelter accompanied Felix to Weimar meet the famous German poet Goethe, who was to act as a friend and mentor to him in later years. This two-week visit was to prove both inspirational and influential to his musical and intellectual development. The other significant event was when in 1823 Felix received from his Grandmother Bella Salomon a copy of Bach’s St. Mathew Passion as a Christmas present. After 5 years of preparation, he later revived the work in a celebrated performance at the Berlin Singakademie on March 11, 1829 when he was 20 years old. This performance was hailed as a tremendous success, and is credited with the revival of Bach’s work in Germany and subsequently throughout Europe and worldwide.
Though home-schooled by some of the finest teachers available, his mother didn't think this was enough, and so in the summer of 1827, Mendelssohn attended the University of Berlin to receive the education she found so often lacking in musicians. While there he attended the lectures by Eduard Gans in legal history, Carl Ritter in geography, and, during the winter semester of 1828–9, Hegel's lectures on aesthetics.[3]
Between terms he vacationed with friends to several places throughout Germany including the Harz Mountains, Thuringia, Franconia and finally Heidelberg where he sketched, worked on his String Quartet in A Minor Op. 13, and also met and worked with several notable musicians including Gottfried Weber and Lindpaintner.
[1] Larry R. Todd, "Mendelssohn, Felix." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed September 30, 2013, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/51795
[2] Philip Radcliffe. The Master Musicians: Mendelssohn. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000
[3] Larry R. Todd, "Mendelssohn, Felix." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed September 30, 2013, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/51795