Felix Mendelssohn Research Paper

Felix Mendelssohn was not only an accepted composer and pianist, but also a sensitive painter, skillful writer, and fluent in three languages aside from his native deutsch tongue. The genesis of Mendelssohn's successful life in the arts, began with piano lessons from his mother. He was later taught by Marie Bigot in Paris, and eventually tutored by Ludwig Berger, a former student of Clementi's. Young Mendelssohn also studied composition with Carl Friedrich Zelter, a keen enthusiast of J.S.Bach. Zelter's appreciation for Bach's music was passed on to his student, and Mendelssohn himself became a devout admirer of Bach. Mendelssohn was not only an accepted composer and pianist, but also a sensitive painter, skillful writer, and fluent in three languages aside from his native deutsch tongue. When Mendelssohn was 20, he conducted Bach's oratio Saint Matthew's Passion. It's performance not sparked afresh a new interest in the music of Bach, but also gained him "respect and recognition" in the realm of music. Six years later, Mendelssohn was made the conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and under his direction it developed into one of the finest in all Europe. A few years prior to his
For example, when listening to Mendelssohn's ever popular orchestration "Fingal's Cave," it is not difficult to sense the rhythmic swelling and pulsating that is easily perceived to be a rather accurate imitation of a tempestuous ocean crashing against a rocky cliff. Although the form of Mendelssohn's compositions gravitate towards the classical era, they also emanate emotion quintessential to the romantic era. While Mendelssohn's music tends to express various ambiences, he tended to eschew schmaltzy extremes in his