Felix Mendelssohn

From Organ Playing Wiki
Revision as of 19:20, 12 September 2014 by Norahess (talk | contribs) (→‎Free Online)
Jump to navigationJump to search

Synopsis

German composer, conductor, pianist, organist

  • 1809 born in Hamburg. The Mendelssohn family moved to Berlin in 1811.
  • 1821-1829 studied and performed in Berlin. He performed widely and composed many of his early works, including 12 symphonies before the age of 15. At age 15 his first symphony, number 11, was composed and published; at age 16 he began to compose fully mature works. His early teachers and patrons included Ludwig Berger, a former pupil of Clementi; Carl Friedrich Zelter, who taught him counterpoint and was heavily influenced by J. S. Bach; and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who pronounced him a child prodigy as promising as Mozart.
  • 1826-1829 studied at Berlin University
  • 1829 Mendelssohn conducted the first performance of the St. Matthew Passion, one J. S. Bach's greatest works, since the composer's death, to great acclaim. This sparked renewed interest in Bach's works, and was the beginning of the revival of the popularity Bach's music in Germany, largely due to Mendelssohn's continued interest.
  • 1829-1832 Mendelssohn engaged in a musical tour of Europe, performing and composing as he did so.
  • 1833-1835 Mendelssohn served as the musical director of Duesseldorf, where among other responsibilities he prepared a major choral work each month to be performed at high mass, including works by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Bach. He revived the musical form of the oratorio, and began composing his own oratorio, St. Paul, during this period.
  • 1835-1840 Mendelssohn accepted a position as music director of the orchestra in Leipzig, where he helped revive the city's musical institutions. He became the most prominent German musician of his time. Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck were his contemporaries and friends in Leipzig. This is the period during which he composed his organ Preludes and Fugues.
  • 1840-1847 Mendelssohn continued in Leipzig, while also traveling extensively to London and many other places. He rediscovered Handel's music and renewed interest in its performance. During this period he also founded the Leipzig conservatory.
  • 1845 Mendelssohn published his organ sonatas.
  • 1846 Mendelssohn finished and published his oratorio "Elijah."
  • 1847 died in Leipzig following a series of strokes, probably exacerbated by overwork, distress at the recent deaths of family members, and exhaustion.

For details, see the Felix Mendelssohn article on Wikipedia.

Oxford Music Online biography of Mendelssohn: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/51795?q=felix+mendelssohn&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit


List of Pieces

Opus Title Year
Op. 37 no. 1 Prelude and Fugue No. 1 1837
Op. 37 no. 2 Prelude and Fugue No. 2 1837
Op. 37 no. 3 Prelude and Fugue No. 3 1837
Opus Sonata Movement Year
Op. 65 no. 1 Sonata 1
1. Allegro moderato e serioso
2. Adagio
3. Andante Recit
4. Allegro assai vivace
1845
Op. 65 no. 2 Sonata 2
1. Grave 
2. Adagio
3. Allegro maestoso e vivace 
4. Fuga
1845
Op. 65 no. 3 Sonata 3
1. Con moto maestoso 
2. Andante tranquillo
1845
Op. 65 no. 4 Sonata 4
1. Allegro con brio
2. Andante religioso
3. Allegretto
4. Allegro maestoso e vivace
1845
Op. 65 no. 5 Sonata 5
1. Andante 
2. Andante con moto
3. Allegro maestoso
1845
Op. 65 no. 6 Sonata 6
1. Choral
2. Andante sostenuto
3. Allegro molto
4. Fuga
5. Final/Andante
1845

Background and General Perspectives on Performing Mendelssohn Organ Works

Replace this text with any general perspectives that do not fit under the categories listed below. (For comments on a specific piece or genre, use the list of pieces above to navigate to that page.)

Registration and Organs

Replace this text with information on registration and organs that might be applicable to the whole set of pieces

See the footnote in the "Notes" section at the bottom of the page. [1]

Fingering and Pedaling

Replace this text with information on fingering and pedaling that might be applicable to the whole set of pieces

Articulation and Phrasing

Replace this text with information on articulation and phrasing that might be applicable to the whole set of pieces

Ornamentation

Replace this text with information on ornamentation that might be applicable to the whole set of pieces

Tempo and Meter

Replace this text with information on tempo and meter that might be applicable to the whole set of pieces

Scores and Editions

IMSLP, Sonata various editions

Free score download

IMSLP, Prelude and Fugue various editions

Free score download

Recordings

John Scott Performs the Complete Works of Mendelssohn

Retail Recording

Free Online

Groove Shark Recordings

Free Recording

Mendelssohn Organ Sonata #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjnLQ0t-sjQ

Mendelssohn Organ Sonata #4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvCsHdux7OY

Pay to Listen

Replace this text with information on online recordings that are available for a fee

Other Resources

Replace this text with information on other resources that might be pertinent to performing these pieces

Notes

  1. This footnote was entered in the "Registration and Organs" article

This space is for automatic insertion of footnotes. To enter a footnote from anywhere in the article, start by typing the tag <ref> and then enter the text, and type the tag </ref> to end the footnote. The footnote will then appear in this "Notes" section automatically.