Felix Mendelssohn was born 200 years ago Tuesday. Though he was one of the most beloved composers of the Romantic period, 270 of his works remained unpublished until recent years. These lost compositions are now coming to light through The Mendelssohn Project.
from Morning Edition on NPR, February 3, 2008.
How cool is that--The Mendelssohn Project!
Among a host of other endeavors, "the Mendelssohn Project is planning to present the magical lives of the two siblings, Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, live on stage in a series of performances around the world," from The Mendelssohn Project website, as is the following mission statement:
The rediscovery of his legacy, music, letters and artworks, the reintroduction of the music of his sister Fanny, the study of the life and times of the entire Mendelssohn family, and the reinstatement of Felix Mendelssohn's place in the pantheon of the greatest composers of all time, are the mission of The Mendelssohn Project.
It sounds like much of the Project is in the development stages, but if it accomplishes even half what is proposed it will be an incredible achievement. Viva Mendelssohn!
4 comments:
You are so in Mendelssohn heaven right now!
You'd better believe it!
It is a great place to be :) Yeah Mendelssohn!
I'm glad LB pointed out your blog to me, Fiddler, because I've been enjoying your writing!
Felix Mendelssohn is definitely one of my favorites - a compositional genius and one of the most remarkable child prodigies of all time. I remember reading somewhere that Goethe, who knew both Mozart and Mendelssohn, considered the latter to be the greater prodigy.
In an earlier post, you mentioned Mendelssohn's admiration of Bach's work. Even beyond his own music, I think we have much to thank Mendelssohn for; were it not for his performance (as conductor) of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in 1829, I'm not sure Bach's music would ever have achieved the popularity that it has. Bach may have remained relatively obscure: adored by composers but unknown to the general public.
Post a Comment