Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn (b. 1809) found a deft solution to the weight of Beethoven's legacy by neatly side-stepping it and absorbing influences of older composers, particularly Mozart. His apparently easy fluent lyrical music won him immense fame in his lifetime especially in Great Britain which inspired some of his greatest works: Elijah, the Scottish Symphony and the Hebrides Overture.

Mendelssohn is the greatest of all musical prodigies, writing the astonishing Octet at the age of 16, followed a year later by the Midsummer Night's Dream Overture. Although his seeming inability or unwillingness to change his musical style for the rest of his life has led to accusations of blandness and Victorian sentimentality. In the 19th century this was often fueled by anti-Semitic jibes, particularly by Wagner (Mendelssohn was a converted Jew). Six months after his sister, Fanny, died in 1847 Felix also passed away from a brain hemorrhage. He was only 38.

Key Works: String Symphonies, Symphony No.3 'Scottish', Symphony No. 4 'Italian', Octet, Songs Without Words, Elijah, A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture & Incidental Music

Key Artists: Claudio Abbado; Daniel Hope; Herbert von Karajan; Peter Maag; Anne-Sophie Mutter; Andre Previn

Influenced by: J.S. Bach, Mozart
influenced: Max Bruch, Charles Stanford, Feruccio Busoni, Andrew Lloyd Webber