Inaug.-Diss.--Frankfurt a. Main. / Lebenslauf. "Anhang: Sechs bisher unveröffentlichte Lieder Mendelssohns": p. 155-166. "Verzeichnis der benutzten Litertur": p. 150-153.

Felix Mendelssohn was a many-faceted individual. While known now primarily as a composer, in his time he was also important as a virtuoso pianist and conductor. His contribution to the musical life of his time and to posterity is significant. As well as composing for nearly every genre (see Table 1) Mendelssohn was a popular soloist and dominated German conducting from 1830 until his death in 1847. Over the years his popularity has waxed and waned. The works of Mendelssohn were highly regarded during his lifetime and remained popular until about 1900. Around 1900, however, there was a major shift in opinion. At this time, his music was considered to be mediocre. The rise of anti-Semitism in Germany during the twentieth century caused a further underrating of Mendelssohn's music in his homeland. It is hoped that this, and other present-day studies, will offer a more objective view of his music. As is true with most composers, in the body of Mendelssohn's compositions, one can find individual pieces to support either greatness or mediocrity. The music which is most familiar to the public: Italian and Scottish symphonies, the Hebrides and Overture and Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream orchestral overtures, and the String Octet in E-flat Major are undoubtedly some of Mendelssohn's best. On the other hand, his operas never have been effective. Even at the end of his life, he was still searching for the perfect libretto. But it is inconsistent writing within individual pieces which is the most frustrating aspect of Mendelssohn's music. The first cello sonata is one such example. Here a solid first movement is followed by two weak ones. Included in the total number of pieces of chamber music on Table 1, are the four pieces that Mendelssohn composed for cello and piano. They consist of two short pieces and two sonatas, and were written over a sixteen year span (see Table 3, page 8). This paper aims to familiarize the reader with these cello works, investigate them in terms of the criticisms leveled at Mendelssohn's music, and examine their contribution and place in today's literature for the violoncello.

The reputation of Mendelssohn's music has suffered more than that of most major composers of his era from the vicissitudes of musical taste. From the beginning, the general public felt drawn to his simple lyricism and vitality, expressed within clearly ordered, easily understandable musical structures. Performers and critics at first responded with the same warm enthusiasm, but later became caught up in sweeping changes of musical style and in political propaganda which denounced Mendelssohn's work for non-musical reasons. Until recently his music has rarely received an objective evaluation. During his lifetime his music was received with almost universal acclaim. To the public, even to the most conservative elements of Victorian society, it had an immediate emotional appeal, while professional musician appreciated his polished craftsmanship. Performances of his works were greeted with the eager excitement described in the following London Times review of the oratorio Elijah: "It was as if enthusiasm, long checked, had suddenly burst its bonds and filled the air with shouts of exultation." His friend and colleague Robert Schumann called him a "god among men," and described him thus: "He is the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the brightest musician who most clearly fathoms, and then reconciles the contradictions of our time -- classicism and romanticism." In another comment, Schumann pays tribute to the ease and elegance of his compositional technique: "Mendelssohn I consider the first musician of this day...He plays with everything, especially with the grouping of the instruments in the orchestra, but with such ease, delicacy and art, and with such mastery throughout."

No description available.

Rezension des Werkes F. Mendel''son-Bartol''di i tradicii muzykal''nogo professionalizma, hrsg. von Grigorii I. Ganzburg, erschienen 1995 in Charkov

The purpose of this study is to examine Sonata No. 2 in detail from many analytical perspectives including melodies, rhythms, harmonic progressions, tonal plans, voice leading, and cadential patterns on macro- and micro-levels. It is believed that a more in-depth discussion of the composition from the perspective of harmony and voice leading may provide answer for the questions raised, and correct some misinterpretations in the works of certain writers. Furthermore, through analysis of Sonata No. 2. this study will show the relationship of the use of formal, stylistic, harmonic features between Mendelssohn and other composers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Bei der Auktion „Music and continental books and manuscripts“ in London bei Sotheby’s wurden von der Leipziger Hochschule für Musik und Theater und dem Stadtgeschichtlichen Museum Leipzig zwei seltene Mendelssohn-Autographe erworben. Die Bibliothek der Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig verfügt über eine Sondersammlung zur Geschichte des Hauses, die verschiedene Dokumente zu Mendelssohns Wirken umfasst. Daher passten die angebotenen Objekte in der Auktion in London in den Sammlungskontext der Leipziger Institution.

Bei der Auktion „Music and continental books and manuscripts“ in London bei Sotheby’s wurden von der Leipziger Hochschule für Musik und Theater und dem Stadtgeschichtlichen Museum Leipzig zwei seltene Mendelssohn-Autographe erworben. Die Bibliothek der Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig verfügt über eine Sondersammlung zur Geschichte des Hauses, die verschiedene Dokumente zu Mendelssohns Wirken umfasst. Daher passten die angebotenen Objekte in der Auktion in London in den Sammlungskontext der Leipziger Institution.

Im März 2011 ist dem Stadtgeschichtlichen Museum Leipzig eine der wohl größten Privatsammlungen zu Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy übergeben worden – die Sammlung des ehemaligen Leiters der Musikabteilung der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Dr. Rudolf Elvers. Der 1924 geborene und in Berlin lebende Musikwissenschaftler war ein leidenschaftlicher und talentierter Sammler; er hat über Jahrzehnte hinweg als Privatmensch rund 480 Bücher, 500 Notendrucke und etwa 380 Autographen von und zu Mendelssohn systematisch und mit großem Geschick zusammengetragen. Dass dieser Bestand nun in Leipzig ist, darf als Glücksfall für die Musikstadt gesehen werden.

Im März 2011 ist dem Stadtgeschichtlichen Museum Leipzig eine der wohl größten Privatsammlungen zu Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy übergeben worden – die Sammlung des ehemaligen Leiters der Musikabteilung der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Dr. Rudolf Elvers. Der 1924 geborene und in Berlin lebende Musikwissenschaftler war ein leidenschaftlicher und talentierter Sammler; er hat über Jahrzehnte hinweg als Privatmensch rund 480 Bücher, 500 Notendrucke und etwa 380 Autographen von und zu Mendelssohn systematisch und mit großem Geschick zusammengetragen. Dass dieser Bestand nun in Leipzig ist, darf als Glücksfall für die Musikstadt gesehen werden.