Mendelssohn was a prolific and detailed letter writer. Although library shelves are full of selections from his correspondence, this English translation of a recent German edition has several points to recommend it, among them the inclusion of correspondence devoted solely to family affairs that has hitherto been unavailable. The letters, which span Mendelssohn's entire life, are interspersed with brief narratives that give the reader some background. Throughout, we are shown the composer in all the diversity of his dealings and also given an idea of his lively personality. Ably translated and well indexed, this readable volume will be attractive to music enthusiasts as well as scholars. Robert W. Richart, Washington State Univ. Lib., Pullman (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
Mendelssohn traveled widely and, wherever he went, sent long, genial letters to his family and friends. In them he avoided setting down judgments on compositions, but did tend to go into great detail about business arrangements. ``There is perhaps less appeal in this collection of letters than music lovers might wish,'' commented PW. Illustrated. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
CHOICE Review
Containing many letters never before published in English, Tomlinson's new translation (the first since Felix Mendelssohn: Letters, ed. by G. Selden-Goth, 1945), draws selectively from more than 4,000 of Mendelssohn's letters. The earliest of the 125 letters included here was written by Mendelssohn at 12 years of age (1820), the last in the year of his death (1847). Although other English editions of his letters exist, they appeared soon after the first German publications and could not include correspondence of a personal nature or references to people still living unless permission was obtained. In the preface to the 1863 edition (Letters of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy from 1833 to 1847, ed. by Paul Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Carl Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, 1863) it is noted that ``intimate domestic relations are expressly withheld.'' In one instance, this resulted in the deletion of an entire paragraph and all personal references through the body of the letter. In another, the reference to a sketch made by Mendelssohn omits the part of the sentence revealing that his brother Paul almost ruined the sketch by pouring a glass of water on it. The Tomlinson translation reads easily and is very faithful to the German. Highly recommended for students and general readers.-H.J. Diamond, Herbert H. Lehman College, CUNY
Booklist Review
This collection of letters written by the composer to family, friends, and colleagues effectively captures Mendelssohn's personality and musical character. The Mendelssohn family valued the voluminous correspondence exchanged between its members, and the composer himself set a high standard both in his evocative descriptions of his travels and in the records of the everyday concerns of a musician in this period. The editor has arranged these letters in a chronological sequence and has balanced out the composer's account of musical matters with a good sampling of more personal correspondence. Chronology; indexes to persons, letters, and work; and general index. JB. 780'.92 (B) Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix Correspondence / Composers Germany Correspondence [OCLC] 86-12028
| Tomlinson, Craig
BookPublisher: New York : Fromm International Pub. Corp., c1986Edition: 1st U.S. ed.Description: xv, 334 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 22 cm. + hbk.ISBN: 088064060X .Subject(s): Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, 1809-1847 -- Letter writing | Composers -- Germany -- CorrespondenceDDC classification: 780.92 MEN