Editing Felix Mendelssohn (section)

====Mendelssohn in Britain====
[[File:FELIX MENDELSSOHN 1809-1847 Composer stayed here.jpg|thumb|upright|English Heritage [[blue plaque]] commemorating Mendelssohn's residence in England at 4 Hobart Place in Belgravia, London]]

Mendelssohn first visited Britain in 1829, where Moscheles, who had already settled in London, introduced him to influential musical circles. In the summer he visited [[Edinburgh]], where he met among others the composer [[John Thomson (composer)|John Thomson]], whom he later recommended for the post of professor of music at [[Edinburgh University]].{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=214}} He made ten visits to Britain, lasting altogether about 20 months; he won a strong following, which enabled him to make a good impression on British musical life.{{sfn|Conway|2009|pp=xvi–xvii}} He composed and performed, and also edited for British publishers the first critical editions of [[oratorio]]s of Handel and of the organ music of J. S. Bach. Scotland inspired two of his most famous works: the overture ''[[The Hebrides (overture)|The Hebrides]]'' (also known as ''Fingal's Cave''); and the ''[[Symphony No. 3 (Mendelssohn)|Scottish Symphony]]'' (Symphony No. 3).<ref>See [http://www.mendelssohninscotland.com/journey-north "The Journey North"] in [http://www.mendelssohninscotland.com/ ''Mendelssohn in Scotland''] website, accessed 9 January 2015.</ref> An [[English Heritage]] [[blue plaque]] commemorating Mendelssohn's residence in London was placed at 4 Hobart Place in [[Belgravia]], London, in 2013.<ref name='EngHet'>{{cite web| url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/#?pageBP=1&sizeBP=12&borBP=&keyBP=Felix%20Mendelssohn&catBP=|title=Mendelssohn, Felix (1809–1847)|publisher=English Heritage| access-date=16 December 2017}}</ref>

His protégé, the British composer and pianist [[William Sterndale Bennett]], worked closely with Mendelssohn during this period, both in London and Leipzig. He first heard Bennett perform in London in 1833 aged 17.{{sfn|Bennett|1907|p=29}}{{refn|On this occasion, when Bennett was 17 and Mendelssohn 24, Mendelssohn immediately invited Bennett to visit him in Germany. " 'If I come', said Bennett, 'may I come to be your pupil?' 'No, no', was the reply 'you must come to be my friend.' "{{sfn|Bennett|1907|p=30}}|group=n}} Bennett appeared with Mendelssohn in concerts in Leipzig throughout the 1836/1837 season.{{sfn|Bennett|1907|p=43}}

On Mendelssohn's eighth British visit in the summer of 1844, he conducted five of the Philharmonic concerts in London, and wrote: "[N]ever before was anything like this season&nbsp;– we never went to bed before half-past one, every hour of every day was filled with engagements three weeks beforehand, and I got through more music in two months than in all the rest of the year." (Letter to Rebecka Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Soden, 22 July 1844).{{sfn|Hensel|1884|p= 292 (vol. I)}} On subsequent visits Mendelssohn met [[Queen Victoria]] and her husband [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]], himself a composer, who both greatly admired his music.{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|pp=172–173}}{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=439}}

Mendelssohn's oratorio ''[[Elijah (oratorio)|Elijah]]'' was commissioned by the [[Birmingham Triennial Music Festival]] and premiered on 26 August 1846, at the [[Birmingham Town Hall|Town Hall, Birmingham]]. It was composed to a German text translated into English by [[William Bartholomew (writer)|William Bartholomew]], who authored and translated many of Mendelssohn's works during his time in England.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=514–515}}{{sfn|Duggan|1998|pp=11–35}}

On his last visit to Britain in 1847, Mendelssohn was the soloist in [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s [[Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)|Piano Concerto No. 4]] and conducted his own ''Scottish Symphony'' with the Philharmonic Orchestra before the Queen and Prince Albert.{{sfn|Conway|2009|p=xviii}}