Felix Mendelssohn

(3 February 1809 – 4 November 1847) Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer, conductor, pianist and of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music and chamber music. His best-known works include his overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Italian Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, the oratorio Elijah, the overture The Hebrides, his mature Violin Concerto, and his String Octet. The melody for the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is also his. Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words are his most famous solo piano compositions.

A grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, Felix Mendelssohn was born into a prominent Jewish family. He was brought up without religion until the age of seven when he was baptized as a Reformed Christian. Felix was recognized early as a musical prodigy, rivaling Mozart, but his parents were cautious and did not seek to capitalize on his talent.

As a performer and writer, Mendelssohn enjoyed early success in Germany and almost singlehandedly revived interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, notably with Mendelssohn's performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829. He was well received in his travels throughout Europe as a composer, conductor and soloist; his ten visits to Britain where he was welcomed into the court of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. While in Britain, many of his major works were premiered. His essentially conservative musical tastes set him apart from more adventurous musical contemporaries such as Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Charles-Valentin Alkan and Hector Berlioz. The Leipzig Conservatory, which he founded, became a bastion of this anti-radical outlook. After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and antisemitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his creative originality has been re-evaluated. He is now among the most popular composers of the Romantic era.