Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

During the 1830s and 1840s the remarkably versatile composer-pianist-organist-conductor Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy stood at the forefront of German and English musical life. Bringing together previously unpublished essays by historians and musicologists, reflections on Mendelssohn written by his contemporaries, the composer's own letters, and early critical reviews of his music, this volume explores various facets of Mendelssohn's music, his social and intellectual circles, and his career. The essays in Part I cover the nature of a Jewish identity in Mendelssohn's music (Leon Botstein); his relationship to the Berlin Singakademie (William A. Little); the role of his sister Fanny Hensel, herself a child prodigy and accomplished composer (Nancy Reich); Mendelssohn's compositional craft in the Italian Symphony and selected concert overtures (Claudio Spies); his oratorio Elijah (Martin Staehelin); his incidental music to Sophocles' Antigone (Michael P. Steinberg); his anthem "Why, O Lord, delay forever?" (David Brodbeck); and an unfinished piano sonata (R. Larry Todd). Part II presents little-known memoirs by such contemporaries as J. C. Lobe, A. B. Marx, Julius Schubring, C. E. Horsley, Max Mller, and Betty Pistor. Mendelssohn's letters are represented in Part III by his correspondence with Wilhelm von Boguslawski and Aloys Fuchs, here translated for the first time. Part IV contains late nineteenth-century critical reviews by Heinrich Heine, Franz Brendel, Friedrich Niecks, Otto Jahn, and Hans von Blow.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This book expands the current picture of Mendelssohn and, with solid research behind it, calls into question commonly held judgments of Mendelssohn as both man and musician. This important book is divided into four parts. Essays by Leon Botstein, Nancy Reich, R. Larry Todd, David Brodbeck, and others take fresh looks at Mendelssohn and his sister, Fanny Hensel. Memoirs provide newly translated material written by members of the Mendelssohn circle, for example, Adolf Bernhard Marx; translations are good. Previously unavailable letters are included. The final section of criticism and reception shows Mendelssohn in relation to Schumann, Heinrich Heine, Hans von Bulow, and various contemporary critics. Elijah is considered by modern scholar Martin Staehelin and by 19th-century scholar Otto Jahn: comparison of the two essays is startlingly revealing of the contrasts in musicological writing of the 19th and 20th centuries. There are excellent short introductions to the translated materials which identify their place in the Mendelssohn literature. This extremely valuable resource is recommended for graduate and undergraduate libraries. C. Cai Kenyon College