On February 3, 1809, in Hamburg, in the family of the banker Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, a boy was born, who was named Felix. The future received an excellent and very versatile education. Since childhood, he had the opportunity to communicate with representatives of the scientific intelligentsia, including Hegel, Heine and Jacob Grimm, the naturalist Humboldt and the sculptor Thorvaldsen, Paganini and. All of them enjoyed visiting Mendelssohn's parents' salon in Berlin. And this breadth of outlook, brought up by communication with the smartest and talented people of that era, of course, had a positive effect on all of Felix's future activities.

Like Mozart, Mendelssohn mastered the art of music at an early age. At ten he was already composing, but, probably, as is often the case with all novice authors, his early work was strongly influenced by his idols: Beethoven, Mozart, Weber ... Octet, written in 1825 and "Dream in midsummer night"were the beginning of his mature creativity. Three years of his life, from 1829 to 1832, Mendelssohn devoted to traveling around different cities Europe. He traveled to England, Scotland, Austria, South Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France and was extremely depressed and deeply disappointed with the situation. musical culture. It seemed impossible that even in the homeland of symphony, in Austria, in Vienna, and not only in Italy and France, the classics were consigned to oblivion. Not a single note of Beethoven was played here even by the best pianists!

And Mendelssohn made a decision: immediately upon returning to Germany, to engage in educational activities! He devoted himself to this occupation without a trace until the end of his days. Being a brilliant virtuoso of his time, Mendelssohn in organ and piano concertos, first of all, acted as a propagandist of serious classical music. It often happened that many of the listeners present at his musical evenings, first got acquainted with the concertos and sonatas and Beethoven.

Mendelssohn traveled the cities and all over the country in search of works that interested him. And this musical pilgrimage has borne fruit. In churches, at the opera, at music stage the creations of the classics sounded, sounded choral music Lasso, Palestrina and Handel, Mozart's Don Juan and Figaro and many others. In Leipzig, where Mendelssohn directed the famous Gewandhaus orchestra until his death, his activity was especially brilliant. Peak it educational activities was the establishment of the first German conservatory in 1843. The most powerful and outstanding composing and performing forces, in particular Schumann, were invited to the number of teachers at the Leipzig Conservatory. It was during this period, in the work of Mendelssohn, that a certain fundamentality, elements of heroism are clearly felt. His oratorios "Elijah" and "Paul" are downright imbued with some kind of revolutionary spirit.

It seems that Elijah is fighting not for the purity of faith, but for the purity of human thoughts, he thinks like a creator who opposes himself to the whole world, mired in worthlessness. Mendelssohn had rather strained relations with the Berlin aristocracy and the ruling circles, but, despite To this, with great pleasure and inspiration, in the forties he began to work on composing music for court productions of the tragedies of Sophocles and Racine. antique drama, her sublime style, her noble passion were in tune with Mendelssohn.

In his compositions of that period (the Ruy Blas overture, the ingenious violin Scottish Symphony) also appear features of drama that were not previously characteristic of Mendelssohn. But these new dramatic tendencies, alas, did not have time to get into the work of Mendelssohn. further development. In 1847, the composer died suddenly at the age of only thirty-nine, in the prime of his artistic fame and creative powers.

(1809-1847)

Jacob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn was born on February 3, 1809 in Hamburg, he was the first son of a well-known Jewish family, which at that time had a significant fortune and social status. The extraordinary musical abilities of Felix and his sister Fanny were noticed by their mother Lea. She first and was the first music teacher of her gifted children. When she stepped over the limits of her motherhood, she placed them in the care of Ludwig Berger, an outstanding pianist and composer. The seven-year-old Felix made such progress that three years later he celebrated his first victory at one public private concert. At the same time, with particular zeal, he learned to play the viola, which later became his favorite instrument.

At the age of eleven, Felix enters the Berlin Singing Academy. Karl Friedrich Zelter, head of the academy, becomes his teacher.

The boy's musical talent developed at such a rapid pace that already in 1822 Heinrich Heine spoke of him as " musical miracle". From the list of compositions that Sister Fanny kept for the first years, we know that already at the age of thirteen, Felix had developed almost all genres of vocal and instrumental music.

The year 1824 brought rich fruits: in addition to the First Symphony, these include: the second concerto for two pianos and orchestra, as well as the piano sextet and several other works. In October 1825, his famous "string" octet was added to them. The octet, which is very peculiar in its composition, testifies to such mastery, which gives grounds for comparison with Mozart or Beethoven. He was surpassed in genius only by the overture to the comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, which Mendelssohn wrote in the summer of 1826 in a few weeks. This work, which includes the well-known "Wedding March", lasts only 12 minutes and takes us into fairy world Shakespeare. It brought Mendelssohn worldwide fame. Zelter describes this work as follows: "In the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" the main idea is outside of music. The play should not be known, it should be known. It rushes in like a meteor, like air, like a cloud of mosquitoes.

On May 11, 1829, an important musical and historical event took place - the first concert performance of Johann Bach's Matthew Passion. Twenty-year-old Mendelssohn conducted at the Berlin Singing Academy. Felix received the notes of Bach's work from his grandmother. The impression from this production was so strong that the Singing Academy decided to include the St. Matthew Passion in its repertoire every year. With this, the young Mendelssohn gave a decisive impetus to the revival of Bach in the 19th century, and he himself received international recognition.

In April 1829 he went to England. A few weeks later, Felix celebrated the first success after the performance of his symphony. With this work, which he wrote at the age of 15, and the concerto for two pianos and orchestra written a year earlier, Mendelssohn won the heart of England, and she became his second musical home. At the end of the musical season, he went with Klingeman to Scotland, whose history inspired him to compose the grandiose Scottish Symphony.

On May 8, 1830, the moment finally came when he could go to the planned big Adventure in Europe: Munich, Paris, Salzburg, Vienna. In early October, he set foot on Italian soil. Through Venice and Florence he arrived in Rome, where he stayed for the whole winter. In Rome, he continued to work: he composed the Hebrides overture and music for the First Walpurgis Night. In addition, he made sketches for the "Italian" and "Scottish" symphonies.

His way back ran through Milan and Switzerland. Arriving in Munich, he felt "comfortable at home", as on his first visit, his heart burned with love for the beautiful Delphine von Schaurot. He dedicated his clavier concerto to her, which he quickly wrote on paper and performed in the presence of the Bavarian king.

But after a short stay in Munich, Mendelssohn again sets off on the road - to Paris. He succeeds as a pianist, but not as a composer. If his Midsummer Night's Dream overture was a small success, then with the "Reformation Symphony" it was even worse. Since the orchestra had already rejected it at the second rehearsal as too "scholastic", the project failed. This was the first great disappointment of the artist spoiled by success, which so deeply stung him that he only vaguely hinted about it in letters to his family. Shortly after this first musical defeat, he receives one sad news after another. First, he was informed of the death of his beloved friend of his youth, Eduard Ritz, and then of Goethe, a fatherly devoted Friend.

Mendelssohn himself fell ill with cholera during his stay in Paris. He writes of "a total sickness that has bedridden him in recent weeks."

Soon new sad news comes - Zelter died, who outlived his friend Goethe by only a few weeks. Thus, Felix lost two patrons in a short time. After the death of Zelter, the position of the head of the Singing Academy was vacated. It was clear to Mendelssohn's father that his son, as a former student of Zelter, should take this place.

June 25, 1832 Mendelssohn returns to Berlin. Here in March 1833 he completed the most popular work- "Italian" symphony, in the jubilant beginning of which one feels admiration for the beauties of this country. It was first performed on 13 May 1833 in London; he conducted himself, and this increased his popularity. Soon another invitation came to Düsseldorf for the Lower Rhine Music Festival as a conductor. Of all the German music festivals this one, founded in 1817, was by far the most significant. Even before the start of the festival, an agreement was concluded with Mendelssohn, according to which he became music director Dusseldorf.

In October 1833, with the best intentions, he began to work in Düsseldorf, but soon found out that he could hardly realize his plans due to a very poor orchestra. Otherwise, in Düsseldorf, he stood firmly on his feet. After he was freed from the director's workload, he could again devote more time to composing.

At this time, parts of his oratorio "Pavel", new keyboard pieces and choirs, as well as several "Songs without words" appeared. "Spring Song" from this collection soon became famous and loved all over the world.

In the spring of 1835, Mendelssohn decided to terminate the treaty with Düsseldorf. His farewell was not very difficult also because already in January 1835 an invitation came from Leipzig to take the place of music director.

Mendelssohn at the age of 26 became the youngest composer ever to hold such a responsible post. A new chapter in the glorious concert history of the Leipzig Gewandhaus has begun. With his characteristic "magnetic eloquence of sign language," he was able to subdue musicians who did not even notice it.

And it is necessary, it was at the beginning of his hopeful activity in Leipzig that he suffered a blow of fate, a blow that he could hardly survive - in November 1835 his father died.

During this year's sad Christmas, his mother made him promise to find " the right woman". He soon met such a woman. Her name was Cecile Jeanrenot. She came from a wealthy Huguenot family. On September 9, they got engaged. Cecile was a beautiful young woman, with a pleasant disposition and charming manners, but not smart enough for Felix, to which he did not pay the slightest attention, since highly educated women were disgusting to him. As a wife, she was a good lover, wife and sister at the same time, who was able to return his happiness young years. She bore him five children. Harmonious family life inspired him to implement new composer's ideas, among which string quartets can be mentioned first of all. Family life made him happier than musical life. As a composer, he was kept from mediocrity by high technicality, as well as good taste. An example is the piano concerto, from which his so-called "philistine life" began.

After returning from his honeymoon, he took over the management of the Birmingham Festival, thus taking on a heavy burden. And in the future, he organized festivals in Birmingham, Düsseldorf, Aachen, led the church choir in Berlin, directed in Frankfurt - these are just some of the things Mendelssohn did during these years. He constantly moves from one place to another. Finally, the King of Saxony managed to persuade Mendelssohn to return to Leipzig again in mid-August 1845. He was appointed head of the Gewandhaus concerts and retained this post until his death.

Mendelssohn's indefatigability is hard to understand. Perhaps the cause of this active restlessness was an unconscious fear of death, from which he fled to vigorous activity. However, despite the many duties of director, conductor and pianist, he continued composer activity.

Mendelssohn completed in 1840 the Scottish Symphony, a one-of-a-kind musical landscape painting sketch. In the summer of 1844 he completed a violin concerto. Until now, this concert remains the most beloved work of violinists and the public.

And finally, he worked on the ending of Elijah after Alfred Einstein, the largest oratorio of the 19th century. About the premiere of Elijah, Mendelssohn wrote to his brother: “Never before has the first performance of my work gone so well. All three and a half hours that it lasted, a large hall with two thousand listeners, the whole orchestra, everyone was in such tension that not a single rustle was heard. Due to increasing irritability and headaches, the doctor forbade him public performance. as a pianist in last time he spoke on July 19, 1846 at charity concert where he played Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata with Ferdinand David. On May 17, 1847, the composer received terrible news: in Berlin, his beloved sister Fanny, his other self, suddenly died of a stroke. With the loss of Fanny, who, after the death of his parents, symbolized his family, he lost himself.

The remaining five months of his life were marked by a futile struggle with increasing fatigue. The whole depth of emotional experiences was expressed in his last great work, which he wrote in Interlakin in Switzerland after the loss of his sister. This is the darkest of all his writings - string Quartet called "Requiem for Fanny".

In his last days, he lay in a semi-conscious state, answered only "yes" and "no", and one day, when Cecile gently asked how he felt, he replied: "Tired, very tired." He fell asleep peacefully. On the evening of November 4, 1847, his breathing stopped and life left him.

“People often complain that the music is too ambiguous, they have to think when they listen, it's so incomprehensible, at the same time everyone understands the words. With me it happens exactly the opposite, and not only in relation to the whole speech, but also to individual words.

Felix Mendelssohn

Jacob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was born in Hamburg on February 3, 1809 in the family of the banker Abraham, who was the son of the famous Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, and Leah Solomon. The parents sought to abandon Judaism, their children received no religious education and were baptized in the Lutheran church in 1816.

The surname Bartholdi was added at the suggestion of Leah's brother, Jacob. Abraham later explained this decision in a letter to Felix as a means of showing a decisive break with the traditions of his father Moses. Although Felix, as a sign of obedience to his father, signed Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, he nevertheless did not mind using only the first part of the surname.

The family moved to Berlin in 1811. The parents sought to give Felix, his brother Paul and sisters Fanny and Rebecca the best possible education. The older sister, Fanny, became famous pianist and an amateur composer. Initially, her father thought she was more musically gifted, but did not see a career in music as suitable for a young girl. Felix Mendelssohn with his beloved sister Fanny

At the age of 6, Felix Mendelssohn began to receive from his mother, and from the age of seven he studied with Marie Bigot in Paris. From 1817 he studied composition with Carl Friedrich Zelter. At the age of 9 he made his debut when he took part in a chamber concert in Berlin.

Zelter introduced Felix to his friend Goethe, who later shared his impressions of young talent, giving a comparison with Mozart:

“Musical miracles… are probably not so rare anymore; but what this small man able to do, playing improvisation or from sight, it is on the verge of magic. I can't believe this is possible at such an early age."

"Yet you heard Mozart in his seventh year in Frankfurt?" Zelter said. "Yes," replied Goethe, "... but what your student has already achieved has the same relation to the Mozart of the time that the cultured conversation of adults has to the babble of a child"

Later, Felix repeatedly met with and set to music many of his poems.

Years of study

Since 1819, Mendelssohn began to compose music non-stop.

Mendelssohn was admitted to the Berlin Choir Academy in 1819. From that moment on, he composed non-stop.

I must say that Felix was a very fruitful composer from childhood. The first edition of his works was published in 1822, when the young composer was only 13 years old. And at the age of 15 he wrote his first symphony for orchestra in C minor (Op. 11). A year later - a work that showed full force his genius - Octet in E Flat Major (Op.20). This Octet and the 1826 Midsummer Night's Dream Overture (of which the Wedding March was a part) are the most famous early works composer.

In 1824, Mendelssohn began taking lessons from the composer and virtuoso pianist Ignaz Moscheles, who once admitted that he had little to teach Felix. Moscheles became Mendelssohn's colleague and lifelong friend.

In addition to music, Mendelssohn's education included fine arts, literature, languages, and philosophy. For his mentor, Heise translated Terence's Andria in 1825. The teacher was amazed and published it as the work of "his student F****". This translation became Mendelssohn's qualifying work for the right to study at the University of Berlin, where he attended lectures on the aesthetics of Georg Hegel, on the history of Eduard Hans and on the geography of Karl Ritter.

Beginning of a conductor's career

Mendelssohn's office in Leipzig

At the Choir Academy in Berlin, Mendelssohn became a conductor, and, with the support of the director of the academy Selter, as well as with the help of his friend Eduard Devrint, he was able to stage the Matthew Passion in 1829. The success of this work marked the beginning of a revival of Bach's music in Germany and later throughout Europe.

In the same year, Felix visited Great Britain for the first time, where he held a concert of the Philharmonic Society. By that time, his friend, Moscheles, was already living in London. He introduced Mendelssohn as an influential musical circles. After the capital program, the composer traveled through Scotland, where he made sketches of overtures, which later gained great fame - "The Hebrides" and "Fingal's Cave".

After returning to Germany, he was offered a teaching position at the University of Berlin, but Mendelssohn turned it down. For several years, the composer traveled around Europe, where he wrote a number of works, and in 1832 he published the first book of Songs Without Words. March 28, 1837 Mendelssohn married Cécile Jeanrenot (daughter of a Protestant clergyman)

In 1833, Felix Mendelssohn became the conductor of the Rhine Music Festival in Düsseldorf, where he presented his works every year. And two years later he began an active conductor's activity in Leipzig, setting himself the goal of making it a musical center of European scale.

The next year, in 1836, the composer received an honorary doctorate from the University of Leipzig. In the same year he met Cecile Jeanrenot, the daughter of a Protestant clergyman. On March 28, 1837, their wedding took place. The marriage was happy and the couple had five children.

At the peak of popularity

The King of Prussia did not stop trying to lure the composer to Berlin, as a result, Mendelssohn was appointed musical director of the Academy of Arts. Until 1845 he worked intermittently in Berlin without leaving his post in Leipzig. At times he made trips to England, performing his work in London and Birmingham, where he met with Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert. The royal couple were admirers of his music.

In 1843, Felix Mendelssohn founded the Leipzig Music Conservatory, the first educational institution of this kind in Germany, thus fulfilling his dream and making Leipzig a musical center on the map of the country.

He also completed a number of his works, including the Scottish Symphony and the Violin Concerto. In 1844 he spent five philharmonic concerts in London.

Mendelssohn is one of the most talented and prolific composers of classical music, even those who cannot name any of his works know the "Wedding March" from the music for the comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream". If we think a little, we understand that Mendelssohn is statistically the most popular composer. After all, this "march" accompanies weddings everywhere - from America to Japan, from Iceland to Australia. And since hundreds of thousands of weddings take place on earth every week, the “Wedding March” is performed in millions of versions - and nothing can compare with it in terms of the number of performances.

Since marriage is one of the most important foundations of bourgeois society, we can safely say that Mendelssohn is the most bourgeois composer in the world.

In many ways, he was an anomaly among his contemporaries, contrasting with the inner calmness and integrity of character with the established image of the composer of the romantic era - a violent, breaking the foundations, unbalanced person. This also applies to his family life. By marrying Cecilia Jeanrenaud, he enjoyed an idyll of marriage that was quite different from the romantic intricacies that had taken place in the lives of composers such as Berlioz, Chopin and Liszt.

Jacob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, in the family of banker Abraham Mendelssohn on February 3, 1809. It was a family with a long history cultural traditions. Grandfather of the future composer - famous philosopher; father - the head of the banking house, an enlightened man, a fine connoisseur of the arts - gave his son an excellent education. Musical ability he showed up from childhood and was noticed by his mother. She began to teach Felix and his younger sister music, and then took up their education. famous musician Ludwig Berger. Felix learned to play the piano and viola. At the age of ten, he won his first victory in the competition, and at the age of eleven he entered the Berlin Singing Academy. They began to talk about him as a miracle. At fifteen he was already writing large musical works: concerts, octets, extets.

At 12 years old.
Mendelssohn was a true "Renaissance man". Talented painter, With early age expressed his ideas in significant drawings and paintings

he was an exquisite connoisseur of literature and philosophy, whose apotheosis of life was music.

His sister Fanny is generally a mysterious and even mystical figure in the Mendelssohn family. Little was known about her for a long time, but everyone knew that Felix adored her, tried not to part with her. When she married the artist Hensel, Felix fell into a wild depression, and only a trip to London brought him back to normal life. It was also known about her that she was a good pianist, and composed something amateurly ...

In the summer of 1826, when he was only 17, he wrote an overture to Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, which included the famous Wedding March, thanks to which the name of Mendelssohn is known to almost everyone.
On May 11, 1829, Felix Mendelssohn conducted the first performance of Johann Bach's Matthew Passion. This performance gave impetus to the revival of Bach's music in the 19th century and glorified Mendelssohn throughout the world. As a matter of fact, it was from that moment that Bach became known to educated mankind, and over time his work was recognized as one of the main musical peaks of all time. Without Mendelssohn, it is quite possible that Bach would never have been discovered.
Mendelssohn joked about this that, they say, strangely, Christians waited 69 years (Bach died in 1750) for a Jew to come and revive great Christian music for them.

basis piano creativity Mendelssohn composed "Songs without Words" (48 plays, 1830-45) - wonderful examples of lyrical miniature, a new genre of romantic piano music. In 1830 he traveled all over Europe, spending the winter in Rome, continuing to write. In 1835 he was invited to Leipzig to take the place of music director.

In September of the same year, he married. The story of the marriage of Felix Mendelssohn is curious. In 1835 (he was 26), his father died, and Felix realized that it was time to get married. Among his acquaintances, he found the pastor's daughter, the beautiful and pious Cecile, who was 17. They fell in love, but Felix decided to test his feelings (and according to another version, he could not marry without his sister's approval) and left for Holland for two months. And only after checking that he really cannot live without Cecile, he returned and got married. The marriage was happy. And sister Fanny resigned herself and approved of this marriage, which was extremely important for Felix ..
Felix did many wonderful things after that - he founded the Leipzig Conservatory in 1843,

He erected a monument to Bach in Leipzig, wrote a lot of beautiful music.

The marriage produced five children. Mendelssohn also organized music festivals in many German cities. All this time he continues to write music: "Scottish Symphony", violin concerto and other works.
The clear individuality of Mendelssohn manifests itself immediately in exceptional aesthetic refinement, a unique melodic sense, colorful, masterful use of instrumental capabilities. Mendelssohn's music is absolutely overflowing with energy, effervescence, drama and novelty, as evidenced by his most famous works: the Midsummer Night's Dream overtures (1826-1842)

And "Hebrides" (1830), "Songs without words" (1830-1845),
(here is one of them - spring)

Or under number 32

"Scottish" (1842) and "Italian" (1833) symphonies. Most of his masterpieces are light, sunny, easy character, the more pronounced is the depth, complexity and spiritual basis of his personality in liturgical works - the great oratorios "Paul" (1835) and "Elijah" (1846).
In the summer of 1847, Felix learned of the death of his sister Fanny, who was his second self. This news broke him. He didn't survive it for long. Last thing great work composer - "Requiem for Fanny" - marked by deep emotional experiences.

Mendelssohn is the only musical prodigy of the nineteenth century whose talent could rival that of Mozart. "This is the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the brightest musical talent who most clearly comprehends the contradictions of the era and reconciles them best of all,” Schumann said about him.
For a long time he was the most unknown of the great composers, hundreds of unperformed works, thousands of unread letters, hundreds of unexhibited artwork- and only the last three decades have opened Felix Mendelssohn to the world in a new way. Constant tension, intensity of performing and pedagogical activity gradually undermined the strength of the composer. Severe overwork, loss of loved ones ( sudden death Fanny's sisters) brought death closer. Mendelssohn died at the age of 38 as a result of a stroke. Just 38 and a stroke...

Sessil survived her husband by only six years. Progressive consumption took her early to the grave.

And the "Wedding March" received a new purpose 11 years later at the wedding ceremony of the Crown Prince of Prussia Frederick William IV and the English Princess Victoria Adelheid, eldest daughter Queen Victoria. The bride was only 14 years old, and she loved music, so she decided to choose her own musical compositions for a solemn occasion. As a result, she liked the “Wedding Choir” from Wagner’s opera “Lohengrin” - the bride was led to the altar to this melody, and the wedding march from Mendelssohn’s symphonic poem “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” - he accompanied the spouses leaving the church. "Chorus" has sunk into oblivion, and solemn music the march was remembered and became traditional for marriage ceremonies. By the way, the first marriage, concluded to the sounds of the Mendelssohn March, turned out to be very happy: Friedrich and Victoria had 4 sons and 4 daughters.

F. Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto

a play by Fanny herself

MENDELSON(Mendelssohn-Bartholdy) ( Mendelssohn-Bartholdy) Felix (1809-1847), German composer conductor, pianist and organist. Founder of the first German conservatory (1843, Leipzig). Symphonies ("Italian", 1833; "Scottish", 1842), symphonic overture "Fingal's Cave" (1832), music for Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1825), concertos for violin, for piano and orchestra, "Songs Without Words" (1845) for piano, oratorio.

MENDELSON(Mendelssohn-Bartholdy) ( Mendelssohn-Bartholdy) Felix ( full name(Jacob Ludwig Felix) (February 3, 1809, Hamburg - November 4, 1847, Leipzig), German composer, conductor, organist, pianist.

Promising start

He came from a wealthy and enlightened Jewish family. Grandson of Moses Mendelssohn. In 1816 his family converted to the Lutheran faith, taking the second surname Bartholdi. Young Mendelssohn studied piano with the leading Berlin teacher L. Berger (1777-1839), and in theoretical subjects and composition - with the head of the Berlin Singing Academy K. F. Zelter. His first works appeared in 1820. By the mid-1820s, Mendelssohn was already the author of a number of major scores - sonatas, concertos, symphonies for string orchestra, piano quartets, singspiel; in which he discovered the absolute mastery of the composer's craft, including the technique of counterpoint. On the creative development Mendelssohn was influenced by family travel, communication with prominent people, who visited the salon of his parents, acquaintance with poetry (Mendelssohn met with him more than once since 1821) and with dramas translated by A. V. Schlegel. In this atmosphere that favored rapid development talent of the young composer, his first masterpieces were born: the string Octet (1825) with a ghostly fantastic scherzo and a virtuoso final fugue and the overture A Midsummer Night's Dream (1826), in which the fabulously enchanting element dominates (Mendelssohn retained a penchant for this figurative sphere until the end of life). Mendelssohn's gift for conducting was also formed quite early. In 1829, under his direction at the Berlin Singing Academy, for the first time after many years of neglect, J. S. Bach's Passion according to Matthew was performed; this event marked the beginning of the "Bach revival" of the 19th century.

Career as a professional musician

In 1829-33, Mendelssohn, traveling through Europe, visited England and Scotland (1829), Italy (1830-31), Paris (1831), London (1832, 1833). The impressions received were reflected in the sketch of the future Scottish Symphony, in the overture of the Hebrides (first performance in 1832, London), the Italian Symphony (1833, London) and some other works. In 1833-35, Mendelssohn took the position of music director in Düsseldorf, where Handel's oratorios formed the basis of his conducting repertoire. Passion for this composer was reflected in Mendelssohn's biblical oratorio "Paul" (1836, Düsseldorf). In 1835 Mendelssohn settled in Leipzig, whose name is associated with his top achievements as a conductor and organizer of musical life. Becoming the head of the famous Leipzig Gewandhaus (1835-47), Mendelssohn promoted the music of Bach, Weber (with whom he had a close friendship). In 1843 he founded and headed the Leipzig Conservatory (now the Mendelssohn Academy of Music). The composer became the founder of the Leipzig school, which was distinguished by its focus on classical models.

During the Leipzig period

In the Leipzig years, Mendelssohn composed mainly during summer holidays. Among the most significant works of this period - the overture "Ruy Blas" (1839), the final version of the 2nd symphony ("Eulogy", 1840), "Scottish Symphony" (1842), Violin Concerto in E minor (1844), two piano trios (1839, 1845 ). By order of the King of Prussia, magnificent music was written for Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (partially based on material from a youthful overture). Despite its success, Mendelssohn's relationship with the Berlin elite was difficult. The composer took an active part in organizing the Lower Rhine and Birmingham music festivals; in England, he enjoyed the special sympathy of the public and traveled there 10 times (in 1846 and 1847 he conducted the performance of the oratorio "Elijah" in Birmingham and London). Early death ended the life of one of the most respected musicians in Europe at the time. Mendelssohn died of a stroke at the age of 38, not much longer than his beloved sister Fanny (husband Henselt, 1805-1847), who was also a talented musician.

Romantic

Mendelssohn, to a greater extent than other romantic composers of his generation, was guided by the ideals of the 18th century and classicism. In their the best examples his music is characterized by harmony and balance of forms, restraint of expression, elegance of melodic lines, rational and economical texture - qualities that Mendelssohn took from Viennese classics. From and he inherited a commitment to the fugue, organ, cantata and oratorio genres. At the same time, by the mid-1820s, he developed an original style, often drawing creative stimuli from literature, history, nature, fine arts. It is this reliance on non-musical sources of inspiration that makes Mendelssohn primarily a romantic. His early experiments in the opera genre, marked by a strong influence, were not continued (until the end of his days, Mendelssohn was looking for a suitable plot for the opera and in the year of his death he began work on the opera "Lorelei" to the text of E. Gaibel). His penchant for musical theater more successfully embodied in oratorios, overture "Ruy Blas" according to V., music for "Antigone" by Sophocles (1841) and to "A Midsummer Night's Dream". There is something autobiographical in the choice of subjects for the oratorios: "Pavel" allegorically reproduces the history of Mendelssohn's family, and "Elijah" - the history of his disagreements with Berlin society. Remarkable and many others vocal works Mendelssohn, including the cantata "The First Walpurgis Night" Op. 60 (to poems by Goethe glorifying spring) and choral psalms from the Leipzig period. His secular choirs and romances are uneven in quality, but among them there are genuine pearls - first of all, the romance "On the Wings of a Song" to the words of G. Heine.

Menedelsohn-instrumentalist

Mendelssohn began his path as a composer of instrumental music with symphonies for string orchestra, masterfully stylized in the manner of Viennese classicism. Among the five "real" symphonies of Mendelssohn, "Italian" and "Scottish" stand out. To embody the spirit of Italy, Mendelssohn chose a compact four-part form with a minuet as the 3rd part and a swift dance finale in the rhythm of saltarello (Italian fast dance folk origin). The Scottish Symphony is larger and richer in contrasts; it is more clearly expressed program-pictorial beginning. The most significant programmatic symphonic overtures by Mendelssohn - essentially one-movement symphonic poems - are inspired by the images of the sea ["Sea silence and happy sailing" (according to Goethe, 1828), "The Hebrides" (1832), "Beautiful Melusina" (according to F. Grillparzer, 1833 )]. In the best non-programmed instrumental opuses - such as the Octet, some quartets, piano trios, Serious Variations for pianoforte (1841) and the famous Violin Concerto - classical formal principles are happily combined with an intimate, deeply felt tone. The skill of Mendelssohn as a miniaturist was manifested in his simple and at the same time exquisite "Songs without Words"; this series piano pieces- a kind of lyrical diary - the composer wrote from 1829 to 1845 (only 8 notebooks, 6 pieces each).