Felix Mendelssohn (b. 1809, Hamburg; d. 1847, Leipzig)
Felix Mendelssohn was famous in his day not only as a composer, but as a virtuoso pianist, organist, and conductor. He also founded a music conservatory in Leipzig. Though his compositions were popular in their time, and, fortunately, have become popular again today, they suffered a period of relative neglect in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, partially because of antisemitism. His most well-known works include his mature Violin Concerto, incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a string octet, several symphonies and oratorios, and a beautiful collection of solo piano works entitled Songs Without Words (Mendelssohn possibly would have agreed with his famous contemporary, Frederic Chopin, who claimed that music of any value should contain “hidden meaning”).
Mendelssohn was considered by many to be history’s greatest musical prodigy. The famous German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), who late in life became friendly with the young composer, considered Mendelssohn to be even more precocious than Mozart, whom the poet had met decades earlier. Sadly, Mendelssohn’s older sister, Fanny, who seemed to have just as much musical talent, never got the opportunity—as a woman—to enjoy a musical career (not a dissimilar dynamic to the Mozart family too!).
Felix’s natural fluency in music, his intense musical education (which included a healthy helping of the music of Bach), and his own personality led him toward writing music in a style that was considered conservative during his day. While contemporaries like Franz Liszt and Hector Berlioz were writing louder, splashier music, Mendelssohn felt much of the music of his time was either superficial or incompetent. Modern-day listeners who can listen past the smooth, velvety surface of many of Mendelssohn’s compositions can find great depths of feeling and powerful emotions. This is particularly true of Mendelssohn’s chamber music, into which he poured considerable energies.
After nearly two centuries, it seems that Mendelssohn’s place in the canon of Western art music is finally, and rightfully, secure.