The composer

Born in 1809 in Hamburg, Felix Mendelssohn progressed rapidly at the violin, piano and organ. Unlike his contemporaries such as Liszt, Thalberg and Alkan, Mendelssohn’s compositional style harked back to Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, an essentially conservative approach that was consolidated at the Leipzig Conservatory, which he founded in 1843. Despite Mendelssohn’s short life (he died in 1847), the composer produced a great number of works, notably his youthful Octet, Violin Concerto in E minor, the Hebrides Overture, reams of piano music and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

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