Editing Felix Mendelssohn (section)

====Musical education====
Mendelssohn began taking piano lessons from his mother when he was six, and at seven was tutored by [[Marie Bigot]] in Paris.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=35–36}} Later in Berlin, all four Mendelssohn children studied piano with [[Ludwig Berger (composer)|Ludwig Berger]], who was himself a former student of [[Muzio Clementi]].{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=37–38}} From at least May 1819 Mendelssohn (initially with his sister Fanny) studied [[counterpoint]] and composition with [[Carl Friedrich Zelter]] in Berlin.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=44}} This was an important influence on his future career. Zelter had almost certainly been recommended as a teacher by his aunt [[Sara Levy (née Itzig)|Sarah Levy]], who had been a pupil of [[W. F. Bach]] and a patron of [[C. P. E. Bach]]. Sarah Levy displayed some talent as a keyboard player, and often played with Zelter's orchestra at the [[Sing-Akademie zu Berlin|Berliner Singakademie]]; she and the Mendelssohn family were among its leading patrons. Sarah had formed an important collection of Bach family manuscripts, which she bequeathed to the Singakademie; Zelter, whose tastes in music were conservative, was also an admirer of the Bach tradition.{{sfn|Werner|1963|pp=8–9}} This undoubtedly played a significant part in forming Felix Mendelssohn's musical tastes, as his works reflect this study of [[Baroque music|Baroque]] and early classical music. His [[Fugue (music)|fugue]]s and [[chorale]]s especially reflect a tonal clarity and use of counterpoint reminiscent of [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], whose music influenced him deeply.{{sfn|Werner|1963|p=18}}