Felix Mendelssohn

Unlike the archetypal Romantic composer defined by personal turmoil and libertine excess, Felix Mendelssohn emerged as an outlier among his generation. Domestic stability and steady professional success marked his path, setting it apart from the inner turbulence that shaped many fellow artists. Among nineteenth-century prodigies, only he approached Mozart’s level of early accomplishment. His parents nevertheless discouraged commercial exploitation and shielded the boy from the exhausting regimen imposed on most youthful talents.

Piano instruction came first for Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny; he also took up the violin, and both siblings entered the Berlin Singakademie. Its director, Carl Friedrich Zelter, served as Mendelssohn’s initial composition teacher. From an early age he navigated influential circles in society, politics, literature, and the visual arts with ease. Although he attended the University of Berlin briefly, the greater part of his learning arose from personal associations and extensive journeys.

Mendelssohn’s efforts proved decisive in restoring Bach’s vocal works to prominence during the nineteenth century; the landmark 1829 Berlin Singakademie performance of the St. Matthew Passion stands as the clearest example. He later toured as a pianist alongside Ignaz Moscheles before assuming the post of music director in Düsseldorf from 1833 to 1835, where he led both choral and orchestral ensembles, prepared church music, and eventually served as intendant of the newly founded theater. Friction with the theater’s proprietor prompted him to relinquish certain responsibilities and seek another appointment.

In 1835 he became municipal music director in Leipzig and took charge of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, elevating its already notable standards still further. Three years later he married Cécile Jeanrenaud; their harmonious domestic life contrasted sharply with the turbulent relationships that marked the careers of Berlioz, Chopin, and Liszt. Though sought after as a conductor and briefly active as royal composer and music director in Berlin, Mendelssohn remained devoted to Leipzig’s musical institutions and founded a conservatory there that continues to enjoy high regard.

A genuine polymath, Mendelssohn possessed notable skill as a draftsman and maintained a cultivated appreciation for literature and philosophy. While his name seldom figures in accounts of the era’s most radical innovators, the substance of his music remains unmistakable. Its refined command of form, distinctive melodic character, and assured handling of instrumental color announce a singular voice. Vitality, exuberance, theatrical force, and inventive detail animate his major scores, among them the incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1826–1842), the Hebrides Overture (1830), the Songs Without Words (1830–1845), Symphonies No. 3 (1841–1842) and No. 4 (1833), and the Violin Concerto in E minor (1844). The prevailing brightness of many of these pieces has led some observers to grant him facility while questioning his profundity; yet his sacred works, above all the oratorios Paulus (1836) and Elijah (1846), reveal the intellectual and spiritual depth underlying his personality.