Felix Mendelssohn | Biography, Music, & Facts

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mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/biography/Felix-Mendelssohn">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref4798"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Felix-Mendelssohn#ref4798">Early life and works</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref4799"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Felix-Mendelssohn/Marriage-and-maturity">Marriage and maturity</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref4800"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Felix-Mendelssohn/Marriage-and-maturity#ref4800">Legacy</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Felix-Mendelssohn/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Felix-Mendelssohn">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Felix-Mendelssohn/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/13/116513-050-9DCFF642/Felix-Mendelssohn-painting-Wilhelm-Hensel.jpg" data-href="/media/1/374785/126983" class="media-overlay-link 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Music/Music_Appreciation/Understanding_Music_-_Past_and_Present_(Clark_et_al.)/06%3A_Nineteenth-Century_Music_and_Romanticism/6.04%3A_Music_of_the_Mendelssohns" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Humanities LibreTexts - Music of the Mendelssohns</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200156439/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Library of Congress - Biography of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.aso.org/composer/detail/felix-mendelssohn" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Atlanta Symphony Orchestra - Felix Mendelssohn</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Felix_Mendelssohn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">World History Encyclopedia - Felix Mendelssohn</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p020xm5s" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">BBC Sounds - Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.npr.org/2009/02/03/100196868/felix-mendelssohns-genius-in-40-seconds" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">NPR - Felix Mendelssohn's Genius In 40 Seconds</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/composers/felix-mendelssohn" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Deutsche Grammophon - Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/felix-mendelssohn-mn0000155453" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">AllMusic - Felix Mendelssohn</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://cola.siu.edu/languages/undergraduate/language-programs/german/german-101/music/romantic/mendelssohn.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Southern Illinois University - College of Liberal Arts - Language, Culture, and International Studies - Biography of Felix Mendelssohn</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.sfcv.org/learn/composer-gallery/felix-mendelssohn-bartholdy" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">San Francisco Classical Voice - Felix Mendelssohn</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Felix-Mendelssohn/275787" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Felix Mendelssohn - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Edward-Lockspeiser/1787" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Edward Lockspeiser</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Writer and broadcaster on music. Author of <i>Debussy: His Life and Mind.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Edward Lockspeiser</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-01-30T00:00:00CST" >Jan 30, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Felix-Mendelssohn/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>In full: </dt> <dd>Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Born: </dt> <dd>February 3, 1809, <a href="/place/Hamburg-Germany">Hamburg</a> [Germany]</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Died: </dt> <dd>November 4, 1847, <a href="/place/Leipzig-Germany">Leipzig</a> (aged 38)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Works: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/A-Midsummer-Nights-Dream-music-by-Mendelssohn">“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Briefe-uber-die-Empfindungen">“Briefe über die Empfindungen”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Elijah-by-Mendelssohn">“Elijah, Op. 70”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Hymn-of-Praise">“Hymn of Praise”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Italian-Symphony">“Italian Symphony”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Octet-for-Strings-in-E-Flat-Major-Op-20">“Octet for Strings in E-Flat Major, Op. 20”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Scottish-Symphony">“Scottish Symphony”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Songs-Without-Words">“Songs Without Words”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/St-Paul-by-Mendelssohn">“St. Paul”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/String-Octet-in-E-Flat-Major">“String Octet in E Flat Major”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Hebrides-Op-26">“The Hebrides, Op. 26”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Violin-Concerto-in-E-Minor-Op-64">“Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64”</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Movement / Style: </dt> <dd><a href="/art/Romanticism">Romanticism</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Family Members: </dt> <dd>sister <a href="/biography/Fanny-Mendelssohn">Fanny Mendelssohn</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://www.npr.org/2009/02/03/100196868/felix-mendelssohns-genius-in-40-seconds" target="_blank">NPR - Felix Mendelssohn's Genius In 40 Seconds</a> (Jan. 24, 2025)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Felix-Mendelssohn"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> <button class="facts-list-show-more-btn mt-15 p-0 mx-auto btn font-14 d-block font-weight-normal"> <span class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></span> <span class="show-more-label">Show More</span> </button> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref140731"></span>Felix Mendelssohn</strong> (born February 3, 1809, Hamburg [Germany]—died November 4, 1847, Leipzig) was a German composer, pianist, musical conductor, and teacher, one of the most-celebrated figures of the early <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-music/Vocal-music#ref15781" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Romantic period</a>. In his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/music" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">music</a>, Mendelssohn largely observed <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-music/The-Classical-period#ref15765" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Classical</a> models and practices while initiating key aspects of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Romanticism/Music#ref8418" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Romanticism</a>—the artistic movement that <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="exalted" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/exalted" data-type="EB">exalted</a> feeling and the imagination above rigid forms and traditions. Among his most famous works are <em>Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream</em> (1826), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Italian-Symphony" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Italian Symphony</em></a> (1833), a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Violin-Concerto-in-E-Minor-Op-64" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">violin concerto</a> (1844), two piano concerti (1831, 1837), the oratorio <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Elijah-by-Mendelssohn" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Elijah</em></a> (1846), and several pieces of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/chamber-music" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">chamber music</a>. He was a grandson of the philosopher <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moses-Mendelssohn" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Moses Mendelssohn</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref4798"><h2 class="h1">Early life and works</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Felix was born of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jewish</a> parents, Abraham and Lea Salomon Mendelssohn, from whom he took his first <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/piano" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">piano</a> lessons. Though the Mendelssohn family was proud of their ancestry, they considered it desirable in accordance with 19th-century liberal ideas to mark their emancipation from the ghetto by adopting the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Christian</a> faith. Accordingly, Felix, together with his brother and two sisters, was baptized in 1816 as a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lutheranism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lutheran</a>. In 1822, when his parents were also baptized, the entire family adopted the surname Bartholdy, following the example of Felix’s maternal uncle, who had chosen to adopt the name of a family farm.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1811, during the French occupation of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Hamburg-Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hamburg</a>, the family had moved to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Berlin" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Berlin</a>, where Mendelssohn studied the piano with Ludwig Berger and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="composition" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/composition" data-type="MW">composition</a> with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Friedrich-Zelter" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Carl Friedrich Zelter</a>, who, as a composer and teacher, exerted an enormous influence on his development. Other teachers gave the Mendelssohn children lessons in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/literature" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">literature</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/painting/Kinds-of-subject-matter#ref9450" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">landscape painting</a>, with the result that at an early age Mendelssohn’s mind was widely <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="cultivated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultivated" data-type="MW">cultivated</a>. His personality was nourished by a broad knowledge of the arts and was also stimulated by learning and scholarship. He traveled with his sister to Paris, where he took further piano lessons and where he appears to have become acquainted with the music of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Mendelssohn was an extemely <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="precocious" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precocious" data-type="MW">precocious</a> musical composer. He wrote numerous <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="compositions" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compositions" data-type="MW">compositions</a> during his boyhood, among them 5 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/opera-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">operas</a>, 11 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/symphony-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">symphonies</a> for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/stringed-instrument/The-music-of-stringed-instruments#ref53716" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">string orchestra</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/concerto-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">concerti</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/sonata" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sonatas</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/fugue" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">fugues</a>. Most of these works were long preserved in manuscript in the Prussian State Library in Berlin but are believed to have been lost in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World War II</a>. He made his first public appearance in 1818—at age nine—in Berlin.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1821 Mendelssohn was taken to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Weimar-Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Weimar</a> to meet <span id="ref140732"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Wolfgang-von-Goethe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">J.W. von Goethe</a>, for whom he played works of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Sebastian-Bach" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">J.S. Bach</a> and Mozart and to whom he dedicated his <em>Piano Quartet No. 3. in B Minor</em> (1825). A remarkable friendship developed between the aging poet and the 12-year-old musician. In Paris in 1825 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Luigi-Cherubini" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Luigi Cherubini</a> discerned Mendelssohn’s outstanding gifts. The next year he reached his full <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="stature" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/stature" data-type="EB">stature</a> as a composer with the <span id="ref140733"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/A-Midsummer-Nights-Dream-music-by-Mendelssohn" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream</em></a>. The atmospheric effects and the fresh lyrical melodies in this work revealed the mind of an original composer, while the animated <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/orchestration" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">orchestration</a> looked forward to the orchestral manner of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikolay-Rimsky-Korsakov" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov</a>.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/composers-their-music" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/03/136303-131-B005A386/notes-Illustration-classical-music-composer-composition-blog-2009.jpg" alt="Illustration of musical notes. classical music composer composition. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, history and society, music notes" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Composers & Their Music</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Mendelssohn also became active as a conductor. On March 11, 1829, at the Singakademie, Berlin, he conducted the first performance since Bach’s death of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/St-Matthew-Passion-BWV-244" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>St. Matthew Passion</em></a>, thus inaugurating the Bach revival of the 19th century. Meanwhile he had visited <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Switzerland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Switzerland</a> and had met <span id="ref140734"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Maria-von-Weber" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Carl Maria von Weber</a>, whose opera <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Der-Freischutz" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Der Freischütz</em></a>, given in Berlin in 1821, encouraged him to develop a national character in music. Mendelssohn’s great work of this period was the <em><span id="ref140735"></span>String Octet in E Flat Major</em> (1825), displaying not only technical mastery and an almost unprecedented lightness of touch but great melodic and rhythmic originality. Mendelssohn developed in this work the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="genre" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genre" data-type="MW">genre</a> of the swift-moving <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/scherzo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">scherzo</a> (a playful musical movement) that he would also use in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/incidental-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">incidental music</a> to <em>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</em> (1843).</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="187641" data-asm-type="audio"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="audio"><audio src="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/169561-005-181B7B45/Spinnerlied-C-major-Op-67-Lieder-ohne.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" controls=""></audio></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/61/169561-005-181B7B45/Spinnerlied-C-major-Op-67-Lieder-ohne.mp3" data-href="/media/1/374785/187641">Felix Mendelssohn:<em> Songs Without Words</em></a><span>“Spinnerlied” (“Spinning Song”), Op. 67, No. 34, in C major, one of Felix Mendelssohn's <em>Lieder ohne Worte</em> (<em>Songs Without Words</em>). </span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">In the spring of 1829 Mendelssohn made his first journey to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/England" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">England</a>, conducting his <em>Symphony No. 1 in C Minor</em> (1824) at the London Philharmonic Society. In the summer he went to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Scotland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Scotland</a>, of which he gave many poetic accounts in his <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="evocative" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evocative" data-type="MW">evocative</a> letters. He went there “with a rake for folksongs, an ear for the lovely, fragrant countryside, and a heart for the bare legs of the natives.” At <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Abbotsford-mansion-Scotland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Abbotsford</a> he met <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Scott" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sir Walter Scott</a>. The literary, pictorial, and musical elements of Mendelssohn’s imagination are often merged. Describing, in a letter written from the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Hebrides" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hebrides</a>, the manner in which the waves break on the Scottish coast, he noted down, in the form of a musical symbol, the opening bars of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Hebrides-Op-26" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>The Hebrides</em></a> (1830–32). Between 1830 and 1832 he traveled in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Germany</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Austria" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Austria</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Italy</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Switzerland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Switzerland</a> and in 1832 returned to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/London" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">London</a>, where he conducted <em><span id="ref140736"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Hebrides-Op-26" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">The Hebrides</a></em> and where he published the first book of the piano music he called <em>Lieder ohne Worte</em> (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Songs-Without-Words" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Songs Without Words</em></a>), completed in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Venice" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Venice</a> in 1830. Mendelssohn, whose music in its day was held to be remarkable for its charm and elegance, was gradually becoming the most popular of 19th-century composers in England. His main reputation was made in England, which, in the course of his short life, he visited no fewer than 10 times. At the time of these visits, the character of his music was held to be predominantly <span id="ref140737"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victoria-queen-of-United-Kingdom" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Victorian</a>, and indeed he eventually became the favourite composer of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victoria-queen-of-United-Kingdom" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Queen Victoria</a> herself.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Mendelssohn’s subtly <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="ironic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ironic" data-type="MW">ironic</a> account of his meeting with the queen and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-Prince-Consort" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">the prince consort</a> at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buckingham-Palace" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Buckingham Palace</a> in 1843, to both of whom he was affectionately drawn, shows him also to have been alive to both the pomp and the sham of the royal establishment. His <em>Symphony No. 3 in A Minor–Major,</em> or <em>Scottish Symphony</em>, as it is called, was dedicated to Queen Victoria. And he became endeared to the English musical public in other ways. The fashion for playing the “Wedding March” from his <em>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</em> at bridal processions originates from a performance of this piece at the wedding of the Princess Royal after Mendelssohn’s death, in 1858. In the meantime he had given the first performances in London of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ludwig-van-Beethoven" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ludwig van Beethoven</a>’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Emperor-Concerto" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Emperor</em></a> and <em>G Major</em> concerti. He was among the first to play a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/concerto-music" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">concerto</a> from memory in public—Mendelssohn’s memory was prodigious—and he also became known for his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/organ-musical-instrument" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">organ</a> works. Later the popularity of his oratorio <em><span id="ref140738"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Elijah-by-Mendelssohn" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Elijah</a></em>, first produced at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Birmingham-England" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Birmingham</a> in 1846, established Mendelssohn as a composer whose influence on English music equaled that of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Frideric-Handel" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">George Frideric Handel</a>. After his death this influence was sometimes held to have had a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="stifling" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/stifling" data-type="EB">stifling</a> effect. Later generations of English composers, enamoured of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Wagner-German-composer" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Richard Wagner</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claude-Debussy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Claude Debussy</a>, or <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Igor-Stravinsky" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Igor Stravinsky</a>, revolted against the domination of Mendelssohn and condemned the sentimentality of his lesser works. But there is no doubt that he had, nevertheless, succeeded in arousing the native musical genius, at first by his performances and later in the creative sphere, from a dormant state.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A number of new experiences marked the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/grand-tour" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">grand tour</a> that Mendelssohn had undertaken after his first London visit. Lively details of this tour are found in his long series of letters. On Goethe’s recommendation he had read <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Laurence-Sterne" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Laurence Sterne</a>’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/A-Sentimental-Journey-Through-France-and-Italy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Sentimental Journey</em></a>, and, inspired by this work, he recorded his impressions with great verve. In Venice he was enchanted by the paintings of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Titian" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Titian</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giorgione" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Giorgione</a>. The papal singers in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rome" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rome</a>, however, were “almost all unmusical,” and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Gregorian-chant" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Gregorian music</a> he found unintelligible. In Rome he describes a “haggard” colony of German artists “with terrific beards.” Later, at <span id="ref140739"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Leipzig-Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Leipzig</a>, where <span id="ref140740"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hector-Berlioz" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hector Berlioz</a> and Mendelssohn exchanged batons, Berlioz offered an enormous cudgel of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/lime" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">lime tree</a> covered with bark, whereas Mendelssohn playfully presented his <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="brazen" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brazen" data-type="MW">brazen</a> contemporary with a delicate light stick of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/whalebone" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">whalebone</a> elegantly encased in leather. The contrast between these two batons precisely reflects the violently conflicting characters of the two composers.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1833 Mendelssohn was in London again to conduct his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Italian-Symphony" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Italian Symphony</em></a> (<em>Symphony No. 4 in A Major–Minor</em>), and in the same year he became music director of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Dusseldorf" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Düsseldorf</a>, where he introduced into the church services the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/mass-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">masses</a> of Beethoven and Cherubini and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/cantata-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">cantatas</a> of Bach. At Düsseldorf, too, he began his first <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/oratorio" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">oratorio</a>, <em>St. Paul</em>. In 1835 he became conductor of the celebrated Gewandhaus Orchestra at Leipzig, where he not only raised the standard of orchestral playing but made Leipzig the musical capital of Germany. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederic-Chopin" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Frédéric Chopin</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Schumann" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Robert Schumann</a> were among his friends at Leipzig, where, at his first concert with the Gewandhaus Orchestra, he conducted his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/overture-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">overture</a> <em>Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt</em> (1828–32; <em>Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage</em>).</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":2,"pageId":374785,"pageLength":1446,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.9"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.9' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"BIO_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Felix Mendelssohn | Biography, Music, & Facts | Britannica