II. Andante con moto

Felix Mendelssohn was born February 3rd, 1809 in Hamburg, Germany. He made his public debut in Berlin at just 9 years old. Shortly after, he joined the Singakademie music academy and began composing prolifically as well as conducting. He wrote his first Symphony at the age of 15 and one of his most popular pieces, Overture to a Midsummer's Night Dream, at the age of 17. In 1830, Mendelssohn traveled to Italy for ten months. It is here that he got many of the ideas for his fourth Symphony which premiered in 1830. In the second movement of Symphony No.4, Andante con moto, Mendelssohn portrays many of the ideas and impressions that he had witnessed in his time in Rome, specifically a procession he witnessed. He recreates this gloomy melody he heard over a wandering bass line to produce the unique and beautiful melody heard in the second movement.