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Felix MendelssohnBorn: Feburary 3, 1809Died: November 4, 1847
Mendelssohn had natural gifts that were equaled only by Mozart. He could do anything. He was one of the finest pianists of his time, a great conductor, and possibly the greatest organist. If he had chosen to, he could have been among the greatest violinists. It has been stated many times he could have been a great success at anything he attempted. At the age of nine he had performed on the piano in public, and by the age of twelve he was a notable improviser. While playing a Bach fugue at Goethe's request he improvised the development section, which he had suddenly forgotten. His talents also included painting and he was proficient in gymnastics and billiards. Mendelssohn's memory was exceptional. As a child he knew the nine Beethoven symphonies by heart and could play them on the piano. He most likely could hear a piece of music once and never forget it.
By the time Mendelssohn was sixteen he had written four operas, concertos, symphonies, cantatas and piano music, and when he was seventeen he wrote his most perfect work, "A Midsummer Night's Dream". When he wasa twenty he took the "Grand Tour", which lasted three years. He visited France, Italy and England and was liked by everybody. When he was in Paris, in 1831, he met Liszt, Chopin, Berlioz and Kalkbrenner and heard the early romantic music for the first time. Of those composers he preferred Chopin although it took some time to get over his mistrust of Chopin's harmonies. 
His standards were very high, and he put them to good effect in 1833 when he became director at Dusseldorf, and two years later he took over the Gewandhous concerts in Leipzig, which had been Bach's town. In a short time he had revolutionized orchestral playing. One of his accomplishments was the increasing of his orchestra from forty to fifty players,and he was able to secure a pension for each of them. To quote Schonberg, "One of the first conductors to use a baton, Mendelssohn made his orchestra a precision unit. As a conductor he was sparing in gesture, inclined toward fast tempos,and insistent on accurate rhythm and smooth ensemble. Mendelssohn was probably the first modern conductor, as the term is understood. Spirited, high-strung, dictatorial, he demanded obedience from his players and was known to lose his temper if he did not get what he wanted."
Mendelssohn was married to Cecile Jeanrenaud, a clergyman's daughter, while he was in Leipzig, and the marriage was a happy one, although little is known about his wife. Their marriage was blessed with four children. In addition to the Leipzig concerts, in 1841, Mendelssohn also took over the Berlin Academy of Arts. He also appeared all over Europe as a guest conductor and was especially favored in London, where he was friendly with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. His letters have many references to musical events at Windser Castle. By the middle of the 1840's he was very busy as a composer, conductor, pianist, teacher, administrator, family man and traveler. In 1845 he asked to be released from his duties in Berlin, which gave him more time in London. Nevertheless, he was still very active and his family became very concerned about his health as he became more irritable and looked tired and sickly. While in Frankfort for a conducting apearance he learned of the death of his beloved sister, Fanny. She had had a stroke and died on May 14, 1847. Mendelssohn was very upset upon learning this and shortly therafter had a stroke himself from which he never fully recovered. Because of this he had to stop working and went with his family to Switzerland where he tried to relax. Later, thinking he was feeling better, he returned to Leipzig, but soon afterward he had another stroke, which left him partially paralyzed. At the age of 38 he died on November 4, 1847. Mendelssohn's music has sensitivity with a lot of style and personality. He has influenced the music of the French school, especially with Faure and Gounod as well as the young Richard Strauss and the young Tchaikovsky. Although it has waned somewhat in the past, his music, like Liszt's, is likely to be accepted once again, and he will be recognized as the master he was.
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