History AwesomeMusic / FelixMendelssohn

* Though the symphony as a musical form was at something of a low ebb for most of Mendelssohn's life, his own contributions to the symphonic canon are among the best of the post-[[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]], pre-[[Creator/JohannesBrahms Brahms]] era.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nP0gqKmWuY Symphony No.3 in A minor]] (''Scottish'') was started on the same walking tour of Scotland that produced the ''Hebrides'' overture, with his initial inspiration coming from a visit to the ruins of Holyrood Chapel in Edinburgh. While it had a much longer gestation period (thirteen years), the end result was worth the wait, with first and third movements that evoke images of the wild moors and heaths of the Scottish countryside, while the second and fourth movements are inspired by Scottish dances (the second in particular is based on the Scotch snap), all making for a superb musical love letter to Scotland.[[note]] Though not everyone found the majestic A major coda of the finale convincing; German-born conductor Otto Klemperer famously composed an alternate coda that preserves the rest of the finale's character (and home key), and made several recordings of his version. The coda's defenders observe that its similar atmosphere to the first movement's slow introduction make it more effective at bringing the symphony full circle.[[/note]]

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nP0gqKmWuY Symphony No.3 in A minor]] (''Scottish'') was started on the same walking tour of Scotland that produced the ''Hebrides'' overture, with his initial inspiration coming from a visit to the ruins of Holyrood Chapel in Edinburgh. While it had a much longer gestation period (thirteen years), the end result was worth the wait, with first and third movements that evoke images of the wild moors and heaths of the Scottish countryside, while the second and fourth movements are inspired by Scottish dances (the second in particular is based on the Scotch snap), all making for a superb musical love letter to Scotland.
** Also inspired by European travels is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pO7_IxbDsU Symphony No.4 in A major]] (''Italian''), which was ultimately finished before No.3. Inspired by the life and colour of Italy, Mendelssohn opens with an infectiously lively sonata allegro, moves on to a solemn slow movement inspired by the sight of a religious procession near Naples, and after a graceful minuet, he rounds things off with a furious ''saltarello'', an Italian jumping dance; surprisingly, the finale begins and ends in A minor instead of A major, but is so adrenaline-charged that it never feels like a DownerEnding or even a BittersweetEnding.

** Also inspired by European travels is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pO7_IxbDsU Symphony No.4 in A major]] (''Italian''), which was ultimately finished before No.3. Inspired by the life and colour of Italy, Mendelssohn opens with an infectiously lively sonata allegro, moves on to a solemn slow movement inspired by the sight of a religious procession near Naples, and after a graceful minuet, he rounds things off with a furious ''saltarello'', an Italian jumping dance; surprisingly, the finale is in A minor throughout, but is so adrenaline-charged that it never feels like a DownerEnding or even a BittersweetEnding.

* Though the symphony as a musical form was at something of a low ebb for most of Mendelssohn's life, his own contributions to the symphonic canon are among the best of the post-Beethoven, pre-Brahms era.

** Also inspired by European travels is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pO7_IxbDsU Symphony No.4 in A major]] (''Italian''), which was ultimately finished before No.3. Inspired by the life and colour of Italy, Mendelssohn opens with an infectiously lively sonata allegro, moves on to a solemn slow movement inspired by the sight of a religious procession near Naples, and after a graceful minuet, he rounds things off with a furious ''saltarello'', an Italian jumping dance; surprisingly, the finale begins and ends in A minor instead of A major, but is so adrenaline-charged that it never feels like a DownerEnding or even a BittersweetEnding.
** Mendelssohn had an uneasy relationship with his father's decision to convert the family from Judaism to Lutheranism, but that didn't stop him from composing the excellent [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9tDUd099II Symphony No.5 in D major]] (''Reformation'')[[note]]The name was chosen by the composer's sister, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel.[[/note]] in honour of the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 1830. The finale, built around the melody of the familiar hymn tune "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God") by Martin Luther, is especially moving.

* Mendelssohn's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmj7nCRYNs4 Violin Concerto in E minor]] is a half hour of concentrated awesome. The first movement is full of moments of high drama, particularly in a coda in which the tempo and tension are ratcheted up further with every measure as the music gallops toward a grim final chord. In a masterstroke, the first bassoon holds its final note from the first movement to lead straight into the peaceful second movement, in which Mendelssohn's gift for melody is on full display. But the instant things settle into a serene conclusion, the soloist plays another transitional passage to lead into a vivacious finale that is all joy and good humour.

** Also inspired by European travels is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pO7_IxbDsU Symphony No.4 in A major]] (''Italian''), which was ultimately finished before No.3. Inspired by the life and colour of Italy, Mendelssohn opens with an infectiously lively sonata allegro, moves on to a solemn slow movement inspired by the sight of a religious procession near Naples, and after a graceful minuet, he rounds things off with a furious ''saltarello'', an Italian jumping dance; surprisingly, the finale begins and ends in A minor, but is so adrenaline-charged that it never feels like a DownerEnding or even a BittersweetEnding.

* Mendelssohn's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmj7nCRYNs4 Violin Concerto in E minor]] is half an hour of concentrated awesome. The first movement is full of moments of high drama, particularly in a coda in which the tempo and tension are ratcheted up further with every measure as the music gallops toward a grim final chord. In a masterstroke, the first bassoon holds its final note from the first movement to lead straight into the peaceful second movement, in which Mendelssohn's gift for melody is on full display. But the instant things settle into a serene conclusion, the soloist plays another transitional passage to lead into a vivacious finale that is all joy and good humour.

** Also inspired by European travels is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pO7_IxbDsU Symphony No.4 in A major]] (''Italian''), which was ultimately finished before No.3. Inspired by the life and colour of Italy, Mendelssohn opens with an infectiously lively sonata allegro, moves on to a solemn slow movement inspired by the sight of a religious procession near Naples, and after a graceful minuet, he rounds things off with a furious ''saltarello'', an Italian jumping dance; surprisingly, the finale begins and ends in A minor instead of A major, but is so adrenaline-charged that it never feels like a DownerEnding or even a BittersweetEnding.

** Mendelssohn had an uneasy relationship with his father's decision to convert the family from Judaism to Lutheranism, but that didn't stop him from composing the excellent [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9tDUd099II Symphony No.5 in D major]] (''Reformation'')[[note]]The name was chosen by the composer's sister, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel.[[/note]] in honour of the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 1830. The finale, built around the melody of the familiar hymn tune "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" by Martin Luther, is especially moving.

** Mendelssohn had an uneasy relationship with his father's decision to convert the family from Judaism to Lutheranism, but that didn't stop him from composing the excellent [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9tDUd099II Symphony No.5 in D major]] (''Reformation'') in honour of the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 1830. The finale, built around the melody of the familiar hymn tune "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" by Martin Luther, is especially moving.

* Mendelssohn's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmj7nCRYNs4 Violin Concerto in E minor]] is half an hour of concentrated awesome. The first movement is full of moments of high drama, particularly in a coda in which the tempo and tension are ratcheted up further with every measure as the music gallops toward a grim final chord. In a masterstroke, the first bassoon holds its final note from the first movement to lead straight into the peaceful second movement, in which Mendelssohn's gift for melody is on full display. But the instant things settle into a serene conclusion, the soloist plays another transitory passage to lead into a vivacious finale that is all joy and good humour.

* His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmj7nCRYNs4 Violin Concerto in E minor]] is concentrated awesome from start to finish. The first movement is full of moments of high drama, particularly in a coda in which the tempo and tension are ratcheted up further with every measure as the music gallops toward a grim final chord. In a masterstroke, the first bassoon holds its final note from the first movement to lead straight into the peaceful second movement, in which Mendelssohn's gift for melody is on full display. But the instant things settle into a serene conclusion, the soloist plays another transitory passage to lead into a vivacious finale that is all joy and good humour.

* His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmj7nCRYNs4 Violin Concerto in E minor]] is concentrated awesome from start to finish. The surprise transition between movements in which the dramatic final chord of the first movement dissipates, only for a single bassoon to hold its note and lead straight into the second movement, is a particular highlight.

** The incidental music to ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' is a masterpiece from start to finish. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUDvZaMl4RU Overture]] was originally written when Mendelssohn was just 17, and includes themes for the fairies, the royal court of Athens, the four lovers, and the tradesmen (including a "braying" motif for when Bottom is given a donkey's head). 15 years later, he wove the content of the overture into a full set of musical cues for Shakespeare's play, of which the two most famous are the flighty [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHTV3GFyHfM Scherzo]] between Acts I and II and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0wmzoHd6yo Wedding March]] between Acts IV and V, awesomeness of epic proportions (especially in its original version for full orchestra). There's a reason it has become [[LohengrinAndMendelssohn a standard wedding recessional]] in many countries.
** His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmj7nCRYNs4 Violin Concerto in E minor]] is concentrated awesome from start to finish. The surprise transition between movements in which the dramatic final chord of the first movement dissipates, only for a single bassoon to hold its note and lead straight into the second movement, is a particular highlight.
** The ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJHaIevlvac Hebrides]]'' Overture (AKA ''Fingal's Cave'') is a brilliant piece of thematic music, perfectly portraying the turbulent seas and mysterious caves of its namesake island group on the Atlantic coast of Scotland. The opening few phrases came into Mendelssohn's head almost as soon as he saw the colourful basalt pillars of Fingal's Cave on the island of Staffa, so powerful were their effect on him, and this power comes through in every note in the music itself.
** Though the symphony as a musical form was at something of a low ebb for most of Mendelssohn's life, his own contributions to the symphonic canon are among the best of the post-Beethoven, pre-Brahms era.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nP0gqKmWuY Symphony No.3 in A minor]] (''Scottish'') was started on the same walking tour of Scotland that produced the ''Hebrides'' overture, with his initial inspiration coming from a visit to the ruins of Holyrood Chapel in Edinburgh. While it had a much longer gestation period (thirteen years), the end result was worth the wait, with first and third movements that evoke images of the wild moors and heaths of the Scottish countryside, while the second and fourth movements are inspired by Scottish dances (the second in particular is based on the Scotch snap), all making for a superb musical love letter to Scotland.
*** Also inspired by European travels is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pO7_IxbDsU Symphony No.4 in A major]] (''Italian''), which was ultimately finished before No.3. Inspired by the life and colour of Italy, Mendelssohn opens with an infectiously lively sonata allegro, moves on to a solemn slow movement inspired by the sight of a religious procession near Naples, and after a graceful minuet, he rounds things off with a furious ''saltarello'', an Italian jumping dance; surprisingly, the finale begins and ends in A minor instead of A major, but is so adrenaline-charged that it never feels like a DownerEnding or even a BittersweetEnding.
*** Mendelssohn had an uneasy relationship with his father's decision to convert the family from Judaism to Lutheranism, but that didn't stop him from composing the excellent [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9tDUd099II Symphony No.5 in D major]] (''Reformation'') in honour of the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 1830. The finale, built around the melody of the familiar hymn tune "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" by Martin Luther, is especially moving.

** The incidental music to ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' is a masterpiece from start to finish. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUDvZaMl4RU Overture]] was originally written when Mendelssohn was just 17, and includes themes for the fairies, the royal court of Athens, the four lovers, and the tradesmen (including a "braying" motif for when Bottom is given a donkey's head). Fifteen years later, he wove the content of the overture into a full set of musical cues for Shakespeare's play, of which the two most famous are the flighty [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHTV3GFyHfM Scherzo]] between Acts I and II and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0wmzoHd6yo Wedding March]] between Acts IV and V, awesomeness of epic proportions (especially in its original version for full orchestra). There's a reason it has become [[LohengrinAndMendelssohn a standard wedding recessional]] in many countries.