FELIX MEDELSOHN

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was born on February 3, 1809 in Hamburg, Germany. He was born into a family of six, with three other siblings. He was the second oldest, with his sister Fanny being the oldest, and then his sister Rebecka being the second youngest, and the his brother Paul being the youngest in their family.

Felix’s mother’s name is Lea Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and his father’s name is Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy.

Felix Mendelssohn was born in the early Romantic Era, and he wrote 11 symphonies in his lifetime. He went to college at Humboldt University in Berlin and got a degree in music there.

During his childhood, Felix very much liked the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He listened to it until he turned 11, and then he joined the Singakademie music academy and began composing non-stop.

In his lifetime, Felix Mendelssohn met many famous people, including the Swedish Nightingale herself, Jenny Lind. They were affectionate towards each other, but it was mainly Felix who was. Felix wrote many passionate love letters to her, including one that threatened suicide if she didn’t marry him.

FIVE FACTS yOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT HIM

• He was born into a prominent Jewish family.
• His grandfather was a well-known philosopher.
• He had over four jobs.
• Was baptized as a Christian.
• His mother was a famous pianist.

Felix Mendelssohn’s net worth is estimated to be around 100K - 1Million dollars. This is because during his lifetime, composers didn’t get paid much unless they were famous.

Felix died of a nervous stroke when he was only 38 years old. He suffered from poor health during his final years alive. He is buried at Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof , Berlin, Germany.

MEDELSSOHN’S WEDDING MARCH

• It was written for the organ.
• It was composed in 1842
• Mendelssohn's Wedding March https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=4tDYMayp6Dk

Overture of a Midsummer’s Night Dream:
Was written in 1842 by Felix Mendelssohn. It was originally written for the violin, but was later adapted to other instruments.
Overture from A Midsummer Night's Dream https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=t3RX8FfOyxg

MENDELSSOHN SYMPHONY NO. 4

• I chose it because he wrote it while on tour in Europe and he left sketches of it lying around. I like it because of the dynamic changes.
• https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=k_4Byb4DGtA

WEBSITES USED

• Britanica.org
• Wikipedia.org
• Alphalife.org