Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix |
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BORN 3 Feb 1809, Hamburg - DIED 4 Nov 1847, Leipzig, Sachsen: Goldschmidtstraße REAL NAME Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Jacob Ludwig Felix GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Dreifaltigkeitskirchhof I, Mehringdamm 21 (Halleschen Tor), Kreuzberg (VI-6-7) |
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Son of a Jewish banker and grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelsohn. His family converted to Christianity in 1816. He was a child genius and performed with his sister Fanny. He was taught piano by Ludwig Berger and composition by Carl Friedrich Zelter. When he was 20 he produced his first piece and from then the music flew from his hands. In 1821 he had met Goethe, whose poetry influenced his early writing. From 1826 until 1829 he studied at the University of Berlin. He became famous in Berlin after he directed a performance of the long lost "Matthäus Passion" by Bach at the Singakademie. From 1829 to 1831 he travelled to Italy, France and England to give concerts. In 1833 he became musical director in Düsseldorf and in 1835 Gewandhauskapellmeister in Leipzig, the youngest person ever to get that important position. He enlarged the orchestra with 50 musicians and put Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt and Schumann on the program. In Leizig he married Cecile Jeanrendaud, the daughter of a clergyman. After an appointment as general musical director in Berlin (1841) next to his duties in Leipzig, he was a co-founder of the conservatory in Leipzig in 1842. There he and Schumann taught composition and piano. In 1844 he met the Swedish singer Jenny Lind and they became close friends. Mendelsohn worked much too hard and travelled too much and the death of his sister Fanny from a stroke in May 1847 was a heavy blow to him. Soon afterwards he suffered a stroke himself and his recovery went very slowly. After a stay in Switzerland he returned to work, but soon he had a second stroke which left him partially paralyzed. He died in November 1847, only 38 years old. Family • Father: Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Abraham Ernst • Wife: Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Cäcilie Sophie Charlotte (1837-1847, Frankfurt am Main, Hessen: Französisch-reformierten Kirche) • Sister: Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Fanny • Sister: Dirichlet-Mendelssohn, Rebecka Henriette Lejeune Related persons • supported Bargiel, Woldemar • has a connection with Beethoven, Ludwig van • was a friend of Burgmüller, Norbert • met Cornelius, Peter • was a friend of Devrient, Eduard • was a friend of Ernst, Heinrich Wilhelm • was influenced by Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von • was teacher to Goethe, Walther Wolfgang • was teacher to Goldschmidt, Otto • knew Gounod, Charles François • was teacher to Joachim, Joseph • knew Kemble, Adelaide • knew Kinkel, Johanna • was a friend of Lind, Jenny • was teacher to Ludwig, Otto • was painted by Magnus, Eduard • is brother/sister of Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Fanny • cooperated with Pleyel-Moke, Marie Félicité • influenced Reinecke, Carl • influenced Rheinberger, Josef Gabriel • knew Schadow-Hasenclever, Sophie • cooperated with Schumann, Clara • was a friend of Schumann, Robert • was a friend of Spohr, Louis • visited Varnhagen von Ense, Rahel • was teacher to Verhulst, Johannes Josephus Hermanus • was teacher to Wichmann, Herman Events |
| 11/3/1829 | Bach's Matthäus Passion performed by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Berlin. The performance took place at the Singakademie in Berlin. Anna Milder-Hauptmann participated. [Milder-Hauptmann, Anna] |
| 6/11/1837 | Charles and Adelaide Kemble arrive in Leipzig. They knew Felix Mendelssohn and Charles Kemble hoped that he would support Adelaide's singing career. Soon after their arrival they were spotted by the singer Clara Novello and her parents, who feared that Adelaide might be a rival to Clara. [Kemble, Adelaide][Kemble, Charles] |
| 28/12/1838 | Sigismond Thalberg gives a concert in Leipzig. It was attended by Felix Mendelsson Bartholdy. A second concert followed on 30 December. [Thalberg, Sigismund] |
| 21/10/1844 | First meeting between Felix Mendelssohn and Jenny Lind. She was 24 at the time. It was suggested that they started an affair and that their secret love in combination with the death of his sister Fanny speedened his own death. [Lind, Jenny] |
| 12/8/1845 | Beethoven statue in Bonn unveiled. It was created by Ernst Hähnel and unveiled in honour of the 75th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. Franz Liszt was actively involved in the project and donated over 10,000 francs. Schlegel had been the head of the organising committee but he died in May, 1845. Professor Heinrich Breidenstein, who had first expressed the idea, took over his position. The ceremony was attended by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, Hector Berlioz, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Ignaz Moscheles, Charles Hallé, Jenny Lind, Pauline Viardot, Lola Montez, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn and Maria Kalergis. [Berlioz, Hector][Hallé, Charles][Lind, Jenny][Liszt, Franz][Meyerbeer, Giacomo][Montez, Lola][Schumann, Robert][Viardot-Garcia, Pauline] |
| 4/12/1845 | Jenny Lind sings at a Gewandhaus concert in Leipzig. It was organised by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. [Lind, Jenny] |
| 4/5/1847 | Jenny Lind is Alice in Meyerbeer's "Robert Il Diavolo" at Her Majesty's Opera House in London. It was her debut in England. The queen was there and so was Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. [Lind, Jenny] |
| Images | ||
 The grave of Felix Mendelsohn-Bartholdy at the Dreifaltigkeitskirchhof I, Halleschen Tor, Kreuzberg, Berlin. Picture by Androom (08 Apr 2003) |
 Bust of Felix Mendelsohn-Bartholdy in the garden of the house where he lived in Leipzig. Picture by Androom (08 Feb 2005) |
 The gravesite of Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn-Bartholdy at the Dreifaltigkeitskirchhof I, Halleschen Tor, Berlin. Picture by Androom (15 Jul 2005) |
Sources • Baedeker Berlin, Baedeker Verlag, Stuttgart, 1994 • Blainey, Ann, Fanny and Adelaide, Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, 2001 • Jenny Lind in Donizetti's opera La Fille du Regiment | unknown | V&A Explore The Collections • Sigismond Thalberg - Wikipedia |
