Mendelssohn’s Early Demise

Donald Macleod delves into Mendelssohn’s final year, when he was still very much at the height of his fame.

Felix Mendelssohn has been described as one of the most gifted and versatile musical prodigies ever, becoming a prolific composer writing in many genres from incidental stage and symphonic music, to works for chamber ensembles and solo piano. However, his was a life which was cut short in his thirties. Towards the end of his life, he was at the height of his fame, and at the forefront of German music not only as a composer, but also as conductor, pianist, organist and teacher. In this series Composer of the Week focuses upon the final five years of Mendelssohn’s life, as Donald Macleod surveys the many iconic works he composed during that period, and journeys through Mendelssohn’s extremely hectic schedule which undoubtedly led to the composer's early demise.

Mendelssohn’s hectic life was beginning to catch up with him, and have a serious impact upon his health. Not only was he frequently travelling between cities in Germany fulfilling multiple duties and commissions, but also travelled to England where he was a celebrity. In his final year though, Queen Victoria noted that Mendelssohn’s enthusiasm for his compositional projects seemed to have diminished. Once he returned to Germany, a terrible blow came with the news that his beloved sister has died. Mendelssohn was not the same after this, and within a few months would die himself. In the desolation of his final string quartet, we can hear this perhaps as a requiem for his sister Fanny.

Nachtlied, Op 71 No 6
Sandrine Piau, soprano
Susan Manhoff, piano

Jubilate, Op 69
Kammerchor Stuttgart
Frieder Bernius, conductor

Symphony No 3 in A minor, Op 56 “Scottish” (Vivace non troppo & Adagio)
Philharmonia Orchestra
Walter Weller, conductor

String Quartet in F minor, Op 80
Quatuor Ebène

Produced by Luke Whitlock, for BBC Wales