20 Interesting Facts About Felix Mendelssohn

The world-renowned composer Felix Mendelssohn is perhaps best known for composing the most famous wedding march in history. However, his body of work includes many other magnificent pieces that sometimes don’t receive the attention they deserve.

Over his long and creatively productive life, Mendelssohn composed a vast array of works, intended for both orchestral and vocal performance.

Facts About Mendelssohn’s Life:

1. Heritage: Mendelssohn was of German origin with Jewish roots. His father was a banker, and his grandfather was a famous philosopher.
2. Full Name: His full name was Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The family adopted the second surname after converting to Christianity.
3. Early Mentor: One of his parents’ friends was the celebrated musician Carl Zelter, who first recognized Mendelssohn’s musical talent and encouraged its development.
4. Famous Connections: Throughout his life, Mendelssohn personally met many other renowned composers, including Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt.
5. Musical Training: Mendelssohn began learning to play the violin and piano as a child.
6. First Concert: He gave his first small concert at just nine years old.
7. Vocal Talent: In addition to playing musical instruments, Felix Mendelssohn was an excellent singer. His first vocal concert took place in Berlin when he was just 10 years old.
8. Early Compositions: By the age of 12, he had already composed his first musical works, mainly sonatas for piano, violin, and organ.
9. Meeting Goethe: At 13, his music teacher introduced him to the famous writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was impressed by the young musician’s talent.
10. Conductor: Mendelssohn was also a brilliant conductor and often conducted his own concerts. His overture to William Shakespeare’s comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was performed more frequently than any of his other works.
11. Parisian Influence: When he was 16, his father took him to Paris, the musical center of that era. The rector of the Paris Conservatory, upon reviewing Mendelssohn’s work, gave him the highest praise possible.
12. Leipzig Conservatory: Mendelssohn founded the world-famous Leipzig Conservatory.
13. Admiration for Bach: His favorite composer was Johann Sebastian Bach, whose work had largely been forgotten by that time.
14. Doctor of Philosophy: Mendelssohn held a doctorate in philosophy, awarded to him by Leipzig University.
15. Family Life: He was married once and had five children.
16. International Tours: Mendelssohn traveled extensively for international performances, often playing works by other composers, mainly Weber and Beethoven.
17. Museum: The Mendelssohn Museum is located in Leipzig, Germany, in the house where the great composer passed away after suffering a stroke.
18. Wedding March: The famous “Mendelssohn March,” now synonymous with weddings, was originally composed as part of the overture to Shakespeare’s comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
19. Criticism by Wagner: The famous composer Richard Wagner harshly criticized Mendelssohn’s work, accusing him of imitating Johann Sebastian Bach. Many scholars believe that Wagner’s criticism was at least partially influenced by his anti-Semitic views.
20. Prolific Composer: Throughout his life, Felix Mendelssohn composed over a hundred major works.