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Jacob Ludwig '''Felix Mendelssohn'''-Bartholdy (1809-1847), [[German]] composer and conductor, was born into a privileged and intellectual [[Jewish]] [[Hamburg]] family who converted to [[Christianity]] (and added the Bartholdy) when he was 7. From a young age he had the opportunity to meet and be affected by the scientific and literary greats of German society through his family; and from a young age his genius was recognized.

Jacob Ludwig '''Felix Mendelssohn'''-Bartholdy (1809-1847), [[German]] composer and conductor, was born into a privileged and intellectual [[Jewish]] [[Hamburg]] family who converted to [[Christianity]] (and added the Bartholdy) when he was 7. From a young age he had the opportunity to meet and be affected by the scientific and literary greats of German society through his family; and from a young age his genius was recognized.

By his mid-teens he had written 13 string [[Symphony|symphonies]] and an [[opera]], and at seventeen wrote two of the pieces for which he is famous today – the [[overture]] to [[“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”]] and the equally charming [[Octet]]. From the age of twenty he travelled extensively for the next 16 years (he was particularly welcome in [[England]] where he was a favourite of the royal family) before settling in Leipzig to found the [[conservatorium]] there and conduct the famous Gewandhaus [[orchestra]].

By his mid-teens he had written 13 string [[Symphony|symphonies]] and an [[opera]], and at seventeen wrote two of the pieces for which he is famous today – the [[overture]] to ''"[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]"'' and the equally charming [[Chamber music|Octet]]. From the age of twenty he travelled extensively for the next 16 years (he was particularly welcome in [[England]] where he was a favourite of the royal family) before settling in Leipzig to found the [[conservatorium]] there and conduct the famous Gewandhaus [[orchestra]].

He is counted with [[Robert Schumann]] and [[Frederic Chopin]] – who were both a year younger – as the leaders of a more lyrical, less dramatic, romanticism. His music is exceptionally tuneful, always approachable, but sometimes seems facile, even banal. He wrote in all forms, although his operatic works were either withdrawn or unfinished. Many are descriptive works; even his symphonies, two of which reflect his travels (the “[[Scottish]]” and the “[[Italian]]”) and others, such as the “[[Reformation]]” with definite programmes. He was one of the first to use the stand-alone - or concert - overture as a musical form. (The overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one, written many years before he was commissioned to write the incidental music for an actual performance of the play; and the “Hebrides” overture (“Fingal’s Cave”) is a concert favourite and one of the great musical seascapes.) He wrote one of the great 19th century violin concertos, and his [[oratorio]] “[[Elijah]]”, written late in life, is a masterpiece.

He is counted with [[Robert Schumann]] and [[Frederic Chopin]] – who were both a year younger – as the leaders of a more lyrical, less dramatic, romanticism. His music is exceptionally tuneful, always approachable, but sometimes seems facile, even banal. He wrote in all forms, although his operatic works were either withdrawn or unfinished. Many are descriptive works; even his symphonies, two of which reflect his travels (the “[[Scottish]]” and the “[[Italian]]”) and others, such as the “[[Reformation]]” with definite programmes. He was one of the first to use the stand-alone - or concert - overture as a musical form. (The overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one, written many years before he was commissioned to write the incidental music for an actual performance of the play; and the “Hebrides” overture (“Fingal’s Cave”) is a concert favourite and one of the great musical seascapes.) He wrote one of the great 19th century violin concertos, and his [[oratorio]] “[[Elijah]]”, written late in life, is a masterpiece.