Mendelssohn Barthold, Felix (1809, 1847)

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809 - 1847) was born into a wealthy cultured family.

His father was a prominent Jewish banker, who added Bartholdy to the family surname after his conversion to Christianity. Mendelssohn's grandfather was a noted philosopher and mathematician.

When Mendelssohn was 2 years old, the family moved to Berlin, where they became widely known for their artistic and musical activities.

Mendelssohn was a child prodigy and made his first public appearance as a pianist when he was only nine.

In the early 1830s he began a three year grand tour through Europe. He visited England where he was warmly received and conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and also journeyed through Scotland where he was inspired to write the Hebrides Overture.

He later became conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, where he also helped to found the Leipzig Conservatory. As a conductor, he was influential in the revival of public interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Mendelssohn's style of composition combines something of the economy of means of the classical period with the Romanticism of a later age.