Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn composed music during the Romantic period (1800 - 1911) of musical history. However, something about his music makes it uncharacteristic of most Romantic music. The difference was that he actually used structural form in his music. He embraced the forms from the Classical period and used them in his Romantic works. Due to his admiration of a famous Baroque composer, some of his music sounds similar to Bach.

Mendelssohn was born into a wealthy family in 1809. This made musical education and funding well within his grasp. He was raised in a Jewish family, but later converted to Protestant beliefs.

The following has been scanned, cleaned up, and HTML'ized by myself. It is being reprinted with(out) permission from the Funk & Wagnalls Family Library of Great Music (1977). Take the time to glance over it if you would like more detailed information about the life and times of Felix Mendelssohn.

Felix Mendelssohn: His Life and Times - By Robert Jacobson