Felix Mendelssohn: The Classical Romantic

Felix Mendelssohn led a remarkable musical career. A child prodigy, teenage sensation, composer, pianist, conductor, arts administrator, and musical sleuth, Mendelssohn was a genius who did it all. His music remains unique, embodying both the sensibilities of nascent Romanticism and the previous Classical Era. We will study such beloved masterpieces as the incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the String Octet in Eb, the Violin Concerto in E Minor, Songs Without Words, the tone poem The Hebrides, the String Quartet in F Minor, the oratorio Elijah, the Symphony No 4 Italian, and the Symphony No. 5 Reformation. We will delve into the stories behind them which include artistic contemporaries such as Liszt, Wagner, Robert and Clara Schumann, Berlioz, Jenny Lind, and the Royals, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Albert. Lectures will be supplemented by recordings and videos. No musical knowledge is necessary for the enjoyment of this class.

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