Editing Felix Mendelssohn (section)

==Music==
{{See also|List of compositions by Felix Mendelssohn|Category:Compositions by Felix Mendelssohn}}

===Composer===
====Style====
[[File:Mendelssohn plays to Goethe, 1830.jpg|thumb|''Mendelssohn plays to [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]], 1830'', by [[Moritz Oppenheim]], 1864]] Something of Mendelssohn's intense attachment to his personal vision of music is conveyed in his comments to a correspondent who suggested converting some of the ''[[Songs Without Words]]'' into [[lied]]er by adding texts: "What [the] music I love expresses to me, are not thoughts that are too ''indefinite'' for me to put into words, but on the contrary, too ''definite''."{{refn|1="Das, was mir eine Musik ausspricht, die ich liebe, sind mir nicht zu ''unbestimmte'' Gedanken, um sie in Worte zu fassen, sondern zu ''bestimmte''." From a letter to Marc-André Souchay of 15 October 1842; Mendelssohn's own emphases.[https://books.google.com/books?id=fJ2N80aCpwAC p. 298]|group=n}}{{sfn|Youens|2004|p=190}}

Schumann wrote of Mendelssohn that he was "the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the most brilliant musician, the one who most clearly sees through the contradictions of the age and for the first time reconciles them."{{sfn|Vitercik|2004|p=71}} This appreciation brings to the fore two features that characterized Mendelssohn's compositions and his compositional process. First, that his inspiration for musical style was rooted in his technical mastery and his interpretation of the style of previous masters,{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=312}} although he certainly recognized and developed the strains of early [[Romanticism (music)|Romanticism]] in the music of Beethoven and Weber.<ref name=Men7 /> The historian James Garratt writes that from his early career, "the view emerged that Mendelssohn's engagement with early music was a defining aspect of his creativity."{{sfn|Garratt|2004|p=55}} This approach was recognized by Mendelssohn himself, who wrote that, in his meetings with Goethe, he gave the poet "historical exhibitions" at the keyboard; "every morning, for about an hour, I have to play a variety of works by great composers in chronological order, and must explain to him how they contributed to the advance of music."{{sfn|Garratt|2004|p=64}} Secondly, it highlights that Mendelssohn was more concerned to reinvigorate the musical legacy which he inherited, rather than to replace it with new forms and styles, or with the use of more exotic [[orchestration]].{{sfn|Brown|2003|pp=311, 314}} In these ways he differed significantly from many of his contemporaries in the early Romantic period, such as Wagner, Berlioz and [[Franz Liszt]].{{sfn|Brown|2003|pp=311, 317–318}} Whilst Mendelssohn admired Liszt's virtuosity at the keyboard, he found his music jejune. Berlioz said of Mendelssohn that he had "perhaps studied the music of the dead too closely."<ref name=Men7>{{harvnb|Todd|2001|loc=§7}}</ref>

The musicologist Greg Vitercik considers that, while "Mendelssohn's music only rarely aspires to provoke", the stylistic innovations evident from his earliest works solve some of the contradictions between classical forms and the sentiments of Romanticism. The expressiveness of Romantic music presented a problem in adherence to [[sonata form]]; the final ([[recapitulation (music)|recapitulation]]) section of a movement could seem, in the context of Romantic style, a bland element without passion or soul. Furthermore, it could be seen as a pedantic delay before reaching the emotional climax of a movement, which in the classical tradition had tended to be at the transition from the [[Sonata form#Development|development]] section of the movement to the recapitulation; whereas Berlioz and other "modernists" sought to have the emotional climax at the end of a movement, if necessary by adding an extended [[coda (music)|coda]] to follow the recapitulation proper. Mendelssohn's solution to this problem was less sensational than Berlioz's approach, but was rooted in changing the structural balance of the formal components of the movement. Thus typically in a Mendelssohnian movement, the development-recapitulation transition might not be strongly marked, and the recapitulation section would be harmonically or melodically varied so as not to be a direct copy of the opening, [[exposition (music)|exposition]], section; this allowed a logical movement towards a final climax. Vitercik summarizes the effect as "to assimilate the dynamic trajectory of 'external form' to the 'logical' unfolding of the story of the theme".{{sfn|Vitercik|2004|pp=71–82}}

[[Richard Taruskin]] wrote that, although Mendelssohn produced works of extraordinary mastery at a very early age,
<blockquote>he never outgrew his precocious youthful style.&nbsp;[...] He remained stylistically conservative&nbsp;[...] feeling no need to attract attention with a display of "revolutionary" novelty. Throughout his short career he remained comfortably faithful to the musical status quo&nbsp;– that is, the "classical" forms, as they were already thought of by his time. His version of romanticism, already evident in his earliest works, consisted in musical "pictorialism" of a fairly conventional, objective nature (though exquisitely wrought).{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|pp=180–183}}</blockquote>

====Early works====
The young Mendelssohn was greatly influenced in his childhood by the music of both J. S. Bach and [[Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach|C. P. E. Bach]], and of Beethoven, [[Joseph Haydn]] and Mozart; traces of these composers can be seen in the 13 early [[String symphonies (Mendelssohn)|string symphonies]]. These were written from 1821 to 1823, when he was between the ages of 12 and 14, principally for performance in the Mendelssohn household, and not published or publicly performed until long after his death.{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|pp=36–37}}{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=61–62}}

His first published works were his three [[piano quartet]]s (1822–1825; [[Piano Quartet No. 1 (Mendelssohn)|Op. 1]] in C minor, [[Piano Quartet No. 2 (Mendelssohn)|Op. 2]] in F minor and [[Piano Quartet No. 3 (Mendelssohn)|Op. 3]] in B minor);{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=109, 139}} but his capacities are especially revealed in a group of works of his early maturity: the [[Octet (Mendelssohn)|String Octet]] (1825), the Overture ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1826), which in its [[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn)#Overture|finished form]] also owes much to the influence of [[Adolf Bernhard Marx]], at the time a close friend of Mendelssohn, and the two early [[string quartet]]s: [[String Quartet No. 1 (Mendelssohn)|Op. 12]] (1829) and [[String Quartet No. 2 (Mendelssohn)|Op. 13]] (1827), which both show a remarkable grasp of the techniques and ideas of [[Late string quartets (Beethoven)|Beethoven's last quartets]] that Mendelssohn had been closely studying.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=179–180}} These four works show an intuitive command of form, harmony, [[counterpoint]], colour, and compositional technique, which in the opinion of R. Larry Todd justifies claims frequently made that Mendelssohn's precocity exceeded even that of Mozart in its intellectual grasp.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=102–107}}

A 2009 survey by the [[BBC]] of 16 music critics opined that Mendelssohn was the greatest composing prodigy in the history of Western classical music.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2009/05_may/music_prodigy.shtml |title= Mendelssohn takes top spot as greatest child prodigy of all time. But where's Mozart? |publisher= BBC |date= 13 September 2009 |access-date= 2 February 2019}}</ref>

====Symphonies====
[[File:Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy - Wilhelm Hensel 1847.jpg|thumb|right|Portrait of Mendelssohn by [[Wilhelm Hensel]], 1847]]
Mendelssohn's mature symphonies are numbered approximately in the order of publication, rather than the order in which they were composed. The order of composition is: 1, 5, 4, 2, 3.<ref name="list"/> The placement of No. 3 in this sequence is problematic because he worked on it for over a decade, starting the sketches soon after he began work on No. 5 but completing it after both Nos. 5 and 4.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=214, 430}}

The [[Symphony No. 1 (Mendelssohn)|Symphony No. 1 in C minor]] for full orchestra was written in 1824, when Mendelssohn was aged 15. This work is experimental, showing the influences of Beethoven and [[Carl Maria von Weber]].{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=130–131}} Mendelssohn conducted the symphony on his first visit to London in 1829, with the orchestra of the [[Royal Philharmonic Society|Philharmonic Society]]. For the third movement he substituted an orchestration of the Scherzo from his Octet. In this form the piece was a success, and laid the foundations of his British reputation.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=206–207}}

During 1829 and 1830 Mendelssohn wrote his [[Symphony No. 5 (Mendelssohn)|Symphony No. 5]], known as the ''Reformation''. It celebrated the 300th anniversary of the [[Reformation]]. Mendelssohn remained dissatisfied with the work and did not allow publication of the score.{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|pp=90–92}}

Mendelssohn's travels in Italy inspired him to compose the [[Symphony No. 4 (Mendelssohn)|Symphony No. 4 in A major]], known as the ''Italian Symphony''. He conducted the premiere in 1833, but did not allow the score to be published during his lifetime, as he continually sought to rewrite it.{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|pp=116–117}}

The ''Scottish Symphony'' ([[Symphony No. 3 (Mendelssohn)|Symphony No. 3 in A minor]]) was written and revised intermittently between 1829 (when Mendelssohn noted down the opening theme during a visit to [[Holyrood Palace]]){{sfn|Eatock|2009|p=39}} and 1842, when it was given its premiere in Leipzig, the last of his symphonies to be premiered in public. This piece evokes Scotland's atmosphere in the ethos of Romanticism, but does not employ any identified Scottish folk melodies.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=430}}

He wrote the [[choral symphony|symphony-cantata]] ''[[Lobgesang]]'' (''Hymn of Praise'') in B-flat major, posthumously named Symphony No. 2, to mark the celebrations in Leipzig of the supposed 400th anniversary of the [[printing press]] by [[Johannes Gutenberg]]; the first performance took place on 25 June 1840.{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|p=157}}

====Other orchestral music====
[[File:Mendelssohn Wedding March Theme.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|alt= |Trumpet part (top) and the main theme in the violin part (bottom), of the "[[Wedding March (Mendelssohn)|Wedding March]]" from Mendelssohn's Op. 61]]
Mendelssohn wrote the [[Overture#Concert overture|concert overture]] ''[[The Hebrides (overture)|The Hebrides]]'' (''Fingal's Cave'') in 1830, inspired by visits to Scotland around the end of the 1820s. He visited [[Fingal's Cave]], on the [[Hebrides|Hebridean]] isle of [[Staffa]], as part of his [[Grand Tour of Europe]], and was so impressed that he scribbled the opening theme of the overture on the spot, including it in a letter he wrote home the same evening.{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|p=85}} He wrote other concert overtures, notably ''[[Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (Mendelssohn)|Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage]]'' (''Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt'', 1828), inspired by a pair of poems by Goethe{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|pp=69–70}} and ''[[Die schöne Melusine|The Fair Melusine]] (Die schöne Melusine)'' (1830).{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|p=130}} A contemporary writer considered these works as "perhaps the most beautiful overtures that, so far, we Germans possess".{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=359}}

Mendelssohn also wrote in 1839 an overture to ''[[Ruy Blas]]'', commissioned for a charity performance of [[Victor Hugo]]'s drama (which the composer hated).{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|p=154}} His [[incidental music]] to ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (Op. 61), including the well-known "[[Wedding March (Mendelssohn)|Wedding March]]", was written in 1843, seventeen years after the Overture.{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|pp=180–181}}

====Concertos====
[[File:Mendelssohn VnConcert op64 2mvt.png|thumb|upright=1.8|alt= Two staves of printed music notation|Violin Concerto Op. 64, main theme of second movement]]

The [[Violin Concerto (Mendelssohn)|Violin Concerto in E minor]], Op. 64 (1844), was written for [[Ferdinand David (musician)|Ferdinand David]]. David, who had worked closely with Mendelssohn during the piece's preparation, gave the premiere of the concerto on his [[Guarneri]] violin.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=479–481}} [[Joseph Joachim]] called it one of the four great violin concertos along with those of [[Violin Concerto (Beethoven)|Beethoven]], [[Violin Concerto (Brahms)|Brahms]], and [[Violin Concerto No. 1 (Bruch)|Bruch]].{{sfn|Steinberg|1998|p=265}}

Mendelssohn also wrote a lesser-known, early [[Concerto for Violin and Strings (Mendelssohn)|concerto for violin and strings]] in D minor (1822); four piano concertos ("no. 0" in A minor, 1822; [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Mendelssohn)|1 in G minor]], 1831; [[Piano Concerto No. 2 (Mendelssohn)|2 in D&nbsp;minor]], 1837; and 3 in E minor, a posthumously published fragment from 1844); two concertos for two pianos and orchestra ([[Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E major (Mendelssohn)|E major]], which he wrote at 14 [1823], and [[Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in A-flat major (Mendelssohn)|A-flat major]], at 15 [1824]); and another double concerto, for violin and piano (1823). In addition, there are several single-movement works for soloist and orchestra. Those for piano are the ''Rondo Brillante'' of 1834, the ''Capriccio Brillante'' of 1832, and the ''Serenade and Allegro Giocoso'' of 1838.<ref name=list /> He also wrote two [[Concertino (composition)|concertinos]] (''Konzertstücke''), Op. 113 and 114, originally for [[clarinet]], [[basset horn]] and piano; Op. 113 was [[orchestration|orchestrated]] by the composer.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=266}}

====Chamber music====
Mendelssohn's mature output contains numerous [[chamber music|chamber works]], many of which display an emotional intensity lacking in some of his larger works. In particular, his [[String Quartet No. 6 (Mendelssohn)|String Quartet No. 6]], the last of his [[String Quartets (Mendelssohn)|string quartets]] and his last major work&nbsp;– written following the death of his sister Fanny – is, in the opinion of the historian Peter Mercer-Taylor, exceptionally powerful and eloquent.{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|p=202}} Other mature works include two [[string quintet]]s; sonatas for the [[clarinet]], cello, [[Viola Sonata (Mendelssohn)|viola]] and violin; and two [[piano trio]]s.<ref name=list /> For the [[Piano Trio No. 1 (Mendelssohn)|Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor]], Mendelssohn uncharacteristically took the advice of his fellow composer, Ferdinand Hiller, and rewrote the piano part in a more Romantic, "[[Robert Schumann|Schumannesque]]" style, considerably heightening its effect.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=377–378}}

====Piano music====
[[File:Mendelssohn oregan sonatas.jpg|thumb|Advertisement for the [[Organ Sonatas, Op. 65 (Mendelssohn)|Organ Sonatas]] in the ''Musical World'', 24 July 1845]]
The musicologist Glenn Stanley observes that "[u]nlike [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]], unlike his contemporaries Schumann, Chopin and Liszt, and unlike [his] revered past masters....Mendelssohn did not regard the piano as a preferred medium for his most significant artistic statements".{{sfn|Stanley|2004|p=149}} Mendelssohn's ''[[Songs Without Words]]'' (''Lieder ohne Worte''), eight cycles each containing six lyric pieces (two published posthumously), remain his most famous solo piano compositions. They became standard parlour recital items even during the composer's lifetime,{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=360}} and their overwhelming popularity, according to Todd, has itself caused many critics to underrate their musical value.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=xxvii}} As example, [[Charles Rosen]] equivocally commented, despite noting "how much beautiful music they contain", that "[i]t is not true that they are insipid, but they might as well be."{{sfn|Rosen|1995|p=589}} During the 19th century, composers who were inspired to produce similar pieces of their own included [[Charles-Valentin Alkan]] (his five sets of ''Chants'', each ending with a [[barcarolle]]) and [[Anton Rubinstein]].{{sfn|Conway|2012|pp=196, 228}}

Other notable piano works by Mendelssohn include his ''[[Variations sérieuses]]'', Op. 54 (1841), the ''Rondo Capriccioso'', the set of six ''[[Preludes and Fugues, Op. 35 (Mendelssohn)|Preludes and Fugues]]'', Op. 35 (written between 1832 and 1837), and the ''Seven Characteristic Pieces'', Op. 7 (1827).<ref name=list>{{harvnb|Todd|2001|loc=§15 (Works)}}</ref>

====Organ music====
Mendelssohn played and composed for organ from the age of 11 until his death. His primary organ works are the ''Three Preludes and Fugues'', Op. 37 (1837), and the ''[[Organ sonatas op. 65 (Mendelssohn)|Six Sonatas]]'', Op. 65 (1845), of which Eric Werner wrote "next to Bach's works, Mendelssohn's Organ Sonatas belong to the required repertory of all organists".{{sfn|Werner|1963|p=424}}

====Opera====
Mendelssohn wrote some [[Singspiel]]e for family performance in his youth. His opera ''[[Die beiden Neffen]]'' (''The Two Nephews'') was rehearsed for him on his 15th birthday.{{sfn|Todd|2001|loc=§2}} 1829 saw ''[[Die Heimkehr aus der Fremde]]'' (''Son and Stranger'' or ''Return of the Roamer''), a comedy of mistaken identity written in honour of his parents' silver anniversary and unpublished during his lifetime. In 1825 he wrote a more sophisticated work, ''[[Die Hochzeit des Camacho]]'' (''Camacho's Wedding''), based on an episode in ''[[Don Quixote]]'', for public consumption. It was produced in Berlin in 1827, but coolly received. Mendelssohn left the theatre before the conclusion of the first performance, and subsequent performances were cancelled.{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|pp=60–61}}

Although he never abandoned the idea of composing a full opera, and considered many subjects&nbsp;– including that of the [[Nibelungenlied|Nibelung saga]] later adapted by Wagner, about which he corresponded with his sister Fanny{{sfn|Hensel|1884|p=159 (vol. II)}}&nbsp;– he never wrote more than a few pages of sketches for any project. In Mendelssohn's last years the opera manager [[Benjamin Lumley]] tried to contract him to write an opera from Shakespeare's ''[[The Tempest]]'' on a libretto by [[Eugène Scribe]], and even announced it as forthcoming in 1847, the year of Mendelssohn's death. The libretto was eventually set by [[Fromental Halévy]].{{sfn|Conway|2012|p=118}} At his death Mendelssohn left some sketches for an opera on the story of the [[Lorelei]].{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=560–561}}

====Choral works====
[[File:Elijah arranged for duet 1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=|Part of the overture to ''Elijah'' arranged by Mendelssohn for piano duet (manuscript in the [[Library of Congress]])]]

Mendelssohn's two large biblical oratorios, ''[[St. Paul (oratorio)|St Paul]]'' in 1836 and ''[[Elijah (oratorio)|Elijah]]'' in 1846, are greatly influenced by J. S. Bach. The surviving fragments of an unfinished oratorio, ''[[Christus (Mendelssohn)|Christus]]'', consist of a [[recitative]], a chorus "There Shall a Star Come out of Jacob", and a male voice trio.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=555–556}}

Strikingly different is the more overtly Romantic ''[[Die erste Walpurgisnacht]]'' (''The First Walpurgis Night''), a setting for chorus and orchestra of a ballad by Goethe describing [[Paganism|pagan]] rituals of the [[Druid]]s in the [[Harz]] mountains in the early days of Christianity. This score has been seen by the scholar [[Heinz-Klaus Metzger]] as a "Jewish protest against the domination of Christianity".{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=269–270}}

Mendelssohn wrote five settings from "[[The Book of Psalms]]" for chorus and orchestra. Schumann opined in 1837 that [[Psalm 42 (Mendelssohn)|his version]] of [[Psalm 42]] was the "highest point that he [Mendelssohn] reached as a composer for the church. Indeed the highest point recent church music has reached at all."<ref>[https://www.carus-verlag.com/en/choir/sacred-choral-music/felix-mendelssohn-bartholdy-wie-der-hirsch-schreit-oxid-1.html Psalm 42] on Carus Verlag website. Retrieved 3 December 2017.</ref>

Mendelssohn also wrote many smaller-scale sacred works for unaccompanied choir, such as a setting of [[Psalm 100]], ''[[Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt (Mendelssohn)|Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt]]'', and for choir with organ. Most are written in or translated into English. Among the most famous is ''[[Hear My Prayer]]'', whose second half contains "O for the Wings of a Dove", which became often performed as a separate item. The piece is written for full choir, organ, and a [[boy soprano|treble]] or [[soprano]] soloist. Mendelssohn's biographer Todd comments, "The very popularity of the anthem in England&nbsp;[...] later exposed it to charges of superficiality from those contemptuous of Victorian [[mores]]."{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=468}}

A hymn tune ''Mendelssohn''&nbsp;– an adaptation by [[William Hayman Cummings]] of a melody from Mendelssohn's cantata ''[[Festgesang]]'' (''Festive Hymn''), a secular 1840s composition, which Mendelssohn felt unsuited to sacred music – has become the standard tune for [[Charles Wesley]]'s popular Christmas hymn "[[Hark! The Herald Angels Sing]]".{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|p=157}}

====Songs====
Mendelssohn wrote many songs, both for solo voice and for duet, with piano. It has been asserted that from 1819 (when he was 10) until his death there was "scarcely a single month in which he was not occupied with song composition".{{sfn|Youens|2004|p=189}} Many of these songs are simple, or slightly modified, [[strophic form|strophic]] settings.{{sfn|Youens|2004|p=198}} Some, such as his best-known song "Auf Flügeln des Gesanges" ("[[On Wings of Song (Mendelssohn)|On Wings of Song]]"), became popular.{{sfn|Youens|2004|p=192}} The scholar Susan Youens comments "If [Mendelssohn]'s emotional range in lied was narrower than Schubert's, that is hardly surprising: Schubert composed many more songs than Mendelssohn across a wider spectrum", and whilst Schubert had a declared intent to modernize the song style of his day, "[t]his was not Mendelssohn's mission."{{sfn|Youens|2004|p=205|}}

A number of songs written by Mendelssohn's sister Fanny originally appeared under her brother's name; this may have been partly due to the prejudice of the family, and partly to her own retiring nature.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=175–176}} In 1842, this resulted in an embarrassing moment when [[Queen Victoria]], receiving Felix at [[Buckingham Palace]], expressed her intention of singing to the composer her favourite of his songs, ''Italien'' (to words by [[Franz Grillparzer]]), which Felix confessed was by Fanny.{{sfn|Hensel|1884|loc=II, pp. 168–171}}{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=175}}

===Performer===
During his lifetime, Mendelssohn became renowned as a keyboard performer, both on the piano and organ. One of his obituarists noted: "First and chiefest we esteem his pianoforte-playing, with its amazing elasticity of touch, rapidity, and power; next his scientific and vigorous organ playing&nbsp;[...] his triumphs on these instruments are fresh in public recollection.{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=202}} In his concerts and recitals Mendelssohn performed works by some of his German predecessors, notably [[Carl Maria von Weber]], Beethoven and J.S. Bach,{{sfn|Brown|2003|pp=206, 211–216, 222}} whose organ music he brought back into the repertoire "virtually alone".{{sfn|Stanley|2004|p=148}}

Mendelssohn admired the grand pianos of the Viennese maker [[Conrad Graf]]; he acquired one in 1832 which he used in the family house and recitals in Berlin, and later another for use in Düsseldorf.{{sfn|Todd|1991|p=279}} In private and public performances, Mendelssohn was celebrated for his [[improvisation (music)|improvisations]]. On one occasion in London, when asked by the soprano [[Maria Malibran]] after a recital to extemporise, he improvised a piece which included the melodies of all the songs she had sung. The music publisher Victor Novello, who was present, remarked "He has done some things that seem to me impossible, even after I have heard them done."{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=282–283}} At another recital in 1837, where Mendelssohn played the piano for a singer, Robert Schumann ignored the soprano and wrote "Mendelssohn accompanied like a God."{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=217}}

===Conductor===
Mendelssohn was a noted conductor, both of his own works and of those by other composers. At his London debut in 1829, he was noted for his innovatory use of a [[baton (conducting)|baton]] (then a great novelty).{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=206}} But his novelty also extended to taking great care over [[tempo]], [[dynamics (music)|dynamics]] and the orchestral players themselves&nbsp;– both rebuking them when they were recalcitrant and praising them when they satisfied him.{{sfn|Brown|2003|pp=241–243, 245–247}} It was his success while conducting at the Lower Rhine music festival of 1836 that led to him taking his first paid professional position as director at Düsseldorf. Among those appreciating Mendelssohn's conducting was Hector Berlioz, who in 1843, invited to Leipzig, exchanged batons with Mendelssohn, writing "When the [[Great Spirit]] sends us to hunt in the land of souls, may our warriors hang our [[tomahawk]]s side by side at the door of the council chamber".{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=448}} At Leipzig, Mendelssohn led the [[Gewandhaus Orchestra]] to great heights; although concentrating on the great composers of the past (already becoming canonised as the "classics") he also included new music by Schumann, Berlioz, Gade and many others, as well as his own music.{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|pp=143–145}} One critic who was not impressed was Richard Wagner; he accused Mendelssohn of using tempos in his performances of Beethoven symphonies that were far too fast.{{sfn|Wagner|1992|p=272}}

===Editor===
Mendelssohn's interest in baroque music was not limited to the Bach ''St Matthew Passion'' which he had revived in 1829. He was concerned in preparing and editing such music, whether for performance or for publication, to be as close as possible to the original intentions of the composers, including wherever possible a close study of early editions and manuscripts. This could lead him into conflict with publishers; for instance, his edition of Handel's oratorio ''[[Israel in Egypt]]'' for the London Handel Society (1845) evoked an often contentious correspondence, with Mendelssohn refusing for example to add [[dynamics (music)|dynamics]] where not given by Handel, or to add parts for [[trombone]]s. Mendelssohn also edited a number of Bach's works for organ, and apparently discussed with Robert Schumann the possibility of producing a complete Bach edition.{{sfn|Brown|2003|pp=40–46}}

===Teacher===
Although Mendelssohn attributed great importance to musical education, and made a substantial commitment to the Conservatoire he founded in Leipzig, he did not greatly enjoy teaching and took only a very few private pupils who he believed had notable qualities.{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=261}} Such students included the composer William Sterndale Bennett, the pianist [[Camille-Marie Stamaty]], the violinist and composer [[Julius Eichberg]], and [[Walther von Goethe]] (grandson of the poet).{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=325}} At the Leipzig Conservatoire Mendelssohn taught classes in composition and ensemble playing.{{sfn|Brown|2003|p=280}}