Music History

Mendelssohn belongs to the Romantic period. He was born in Hamburg Germany, the son of a well-to-do parents and grandson of Moses Mendelssohn, a famous philosopher. Felix started composing at the age of twelve and within 2 years had written sonatas, two one-act operas, organ pieces, string quartets and a cantata. His first famous work was the concert overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, written in 1826 at the age of 17.
Mendelssohn had a bust musical life as a composer, pianist, conductor, and educator. He traveled throughout Europe, but his favorite home-away-from-home was England, which he visited ten times. Trips to Scotland inspired him to write his descriptive overture Fingal's Cave (Hebrides Overture) and his Symphony Number 3 (Scotch). A visit to 
Italy resulted in his Symphony Number Four the "Italian."
In 1829 Mendelssohn conducted J.S. Bach's Passion According to St. Matthew in the first performance of a major work by Bach since his death almost eighty year earlier.
Mendelssohn's brilliant conducting and ability to organize music festivals led to the his appointment as director of music for the city of Dusseldorf. A few years later he became conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra., and in a short time made it the outstanding orchestra of its day.
After a brief and unhappy time as director of music for the king of Prussia in Berlin, Medelssohn returned to Leipzig. In 1842 he organized the Leipzig Conservatory and soon made it the leading German music school. Here, where he acted as dean and taught piano and composition, he was proud of the fact that he never neglected his puils even when busy with his own composition and conducting.
Mendelssohn wrote a great amount of music: two piano concertos, five symphonies, three sonatas, and many other works such as the Variations Serieuses for piano, six sonatas for organ, numerous charming songs and vocal duets, and many chamber works.