His mother, Lea, was a Solomon, a family of Jewish origin like the Mendelssohn, granddaughter of the great Jewish banker Daniel Itzig. Laws emancipating Jews had not yet been enacted in the German states: Jews were forbidden to attend public schools. For Felix, as for his sisters Fanny and Rebekka and his brother Pablo, there were excellent tutors suitable for the children of Lea, who read the Homeric poems in Greek.
Mendelssohn was brought up, from an early age, in humanistic culture, surrounded by music and the finest arts; always in a serene environment and free from serious worries. He worked hard taking an interest in his favorite subjects: every morning he got up at five o’clock and began his day dedicated to the study of piano, violin, drawing and foreign languages. By the age of twelve, he had to his credit several elegant compositions written in different forms.
Later Mendelssohn moved to Berlin, their hometown. After the first teachers: Berger, a student of Clementi, for piano and Henning and Rietz for violin and viola, Felix had Karl Friedrich Zelter as his teacher.
Soon Mendelssohn’s extraordinary composer qualities were revealed, almost as if to make up for some difficult moments the family was experiencing due to the anti-Semitism that had spread around 1819. At that time the Mendelssohn adopted Bartholdy as their second surname, the surname of a baptized relative; they also baptized themselves, becoming Protestant Christians.
Meanwhile, between 1821 and 1823 Mendelssohn he composed twelve symphonies for strings (No. 11 with percussion instruments), concertos for violin and strings, for two pianos, piano and violin. Faced with such talent, his father gave up on making him a businessman, especially after Luigi Cherubini, director of the Paris Conservatory and a music authority of European fame, gave a very positive opinion about the young man.
In 1825, just sixteen years old, Mendelssohn composed the “Octet for double string quartet“, a true masterpiece that became famous and, the following year, he composed the”Overture for A Midsummer Night’s Dream“, another masterpiece, which included the famous”Wedding March“.
In 1829, with the actor Eduard Devrient, Mendelssohn he organized the rediscovery of Bach’s “Passion according to St. Matthew” and directed it in a reduced version and retouched in the instrumentation, but better adapted to be assimilated by the taste of the time; the result was triumphant and began a gradual Bachian rebirth.
Trips abroad to study and musical tours took the composer to England, Scotland (the Hebrides Islands inspired the Cave of Fingal overture), Italy (Italian Symphony No. 4) and Paris.
The musician was friends with Schumann and Franz Liszt, while relations with Wagner were one of cordiality, respect and rivalry.
Mendelssohn’s music stands out as an example of great clarity, where romantic inspiration strikes a balance of enviable classicism, despite occasional original forms, as in the six “organ sonatas.” Great lines have the oratorios “Paulus and Helias“and the eight volumes of”Lieder ohne Worte“(Songs without words), which rounded short and precious pages.
Causes of premature death of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy they also found themselves in the inevitable stress to which their body was subjected due to the many artistic, administrative and pedagogical activities, which prematurely consumed their already weak organism. Upon dying Mendelssohn He left the world a precious inheritance in works of elegant and smooth workmanship; music that beautifully reflects and expresses the personable character and refined sensibilities of its author.