Since his death in 1847, Felix Mendelssohn's music and personality have been both admired and denigrated to extraordinary degrees. In this study Clive Brown weaves together a rich array of documents - letters, diaries, memoirs, reviews, news reports and more - with the aim of presenting a balanced picture of the composer and his work. Rejecting the received view of Mendelssohn as a facile, lightweight musician, Brown demonstrates that he was in fact an innovative and highly cerebral composer who exerted a powerful influence on musical thought into the 20th century. Brown discusses Mendelssohn's family background and education; the role of religion and race in his life and reputation; his experiences as practical musician (pianist, organist, string player, conductor) and as teacher and composer; the critical reception of his works; and the vicissitudes of his posthumous reputation. The text also includes a range of hitherto unpublished sketches made by Mendelssohn. The result is a portrayal of the man and his achievements as viewed through his own words and those of his contemporaries.
A Portrait of Mendelssohn
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"This fascinating book presents a rich selection of documents concerning Mendelssohn's life and music, including some important new material." R. Larry Todd, Duke University
About the Author
Clive Brown, professor of applied musicology at the University of Leeds, is a professional violinist and author of Classical and Romantic Performing Practice, 1750-1900.
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A thematic approach to Mendelssohn's life and music.,
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This review is from: A Portrait of Mendelssohn (Hardcover)
Two hundred years after his birth, Mendelssohn appears to be undergoing a welcome reappraisal. Brown's book is a worthy addition to the many scholarly books and essays on this multi-talented and fascinating man, dispelling many of the myths perpetuated after his tragically early death. What sets this work apart from other biographies is its thematic arrangement of the many aspects of the composer's life and career, including his family, relations with women, religion, philosophy, his career as a conductor, composer, performer, as well as critical reception of the composer's work both during his lifetime and posthumously. A separate chapter discusses Wagner's essay on Judaism in music and its pernicious effect on Mendelssohn's (and Meyerbeer's) musical reputation. Mendelssohn's impressive accomplishments as visual artist are also discussed and some of his sketches and watercolors reproduced, although I would have enjoyed seeing some of them in color.
A deeply spiritual man and an idealist at heart, Mendelssohn believed that art and life should be one and the same. It is therefore a supreme irony that a composer who strove for depth of feeling and honesty in his work has too often been dismissed as superficial. Brown's book provides a welcome corrective to the life and legacy of this often misunderstood genius.
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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musical world, minor piano concerto, keyboard playing, minor symphony, music society, musical activities, practical musician, concert overtures Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Critical Reception, Professional Career, Posthumous Reputation, Felix Mendelssohn, The Practical Musician, The Leipzig Conservatorium, Ferdinand David, Midsummer Night's Dream, Moses Mendelssohn, Critical Dissention, Lower Rhine Music Festival, Das Judenthum, Philharmonic Society, The Man, Bodleian Library, Emil Naumann, Ferdinand Hiller, Sebastian Bach, Changing Critical Perspectives, Abraham Mendelssohn, Jenny Lind, The Final Years, Die Hochzeit des Camacho, The Early Years, Herr Mendelssohn Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
musical world, minor piano concerto, keyboard playing, minor symphony, music society, musical activities, practical musician, concert overtures Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Critical Reception, Professional Career, Posthumous Reputation, Felix Mendelssohn, The Practical Musician, The Leipzig Conservatorium, Ferdinand David, Midsummer Night's Dream, Moses Mendelssohn, Critical Dissention, Lower Rhine Music Festival, Das Judenthum, Philharmonic Society, The Man, Bodleian Library, Emil Naumann, Ferdinand Hiller, Sebastian Bach, Changing Critical Perspectives, Abraham Mendelssohn, Jenny Lind, The Final Years, Die Hochzeit des Camacho, The Early Years, Herr Mendelssohn Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
3
books
cite this book:
- The Cambridge Companion to Mendelssohn (Cambridge Companions to Music) by Peter Mercer-Taylor in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Price of Assimilation: Felix Mendelssohn and the Nineteenth-Century Anti-Semitic Tradition by Jeffrey S. Sposato in Back Matter
- Nineteenth-Century Chamber Music (Routledge Studies in Musical Genres) by Stephen Hefling in Front Matter
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