So this week I decided to delve into the life of Felix Mendelssohn as one of his pieces played a large role in my life and I very much enjoy his music. I am still in the beginning stages of learning the piece so I decided not to post videos quite yet as I am still in the very beginning stages.
This is Felix Mendelssohn. He was born February 3, 1809 and he died on November 4, 1847 at the young age of 38. He learned many pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach and by the age of 13 he earned the official status as a composer with the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He also became a composer, composing the St. Matthew Passion in 1829 for the first time since Bach died in 1750. During his next great work, the String Octet in E Flat Major, he developed the genre of scherzo: a playful musical movement.
Copy of a piece in the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream sheet music obtained from Sheet Music Plus
He traveled around to England, Scotland, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. He composed many pieces but his music was most popular in England and was claimed to be the favourite composer of Queen Victoria. He dedicated a symphony to Queen Victoria and eventually his piece the “Wedding March” from his A Midsummer Night’s Dream became the song played for bridal processions after it was played at the wedding of the Princess Royal after his death.
He was one of the first to play a concerto in public completely from memory. He became a great influential romantic composer and many of his pieces are still played today.
Photo taken from unsplash by Marius Muresan
