Composers Studio
Ronald Lewis
Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, on February 3rd, 1809, the son of Leah
Salomon, and Abraham Mendelssohn, a wealthy banker, and the grandson of Jewish
rabbi and philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. Being born in a family of
well-to-do intellectuals certainly had its advantages, providing the ideal
cultural environment for the artistic and precocious young Felix. In
addition to receiving a good education, Felix and his family traveled around
Europe.+While Moses Mendelssohn frowned on German Jews converting to
Christianity in the hopes of gaining social acceptance outside their ghettos,
that did not stop Felix Mendelssohn's parents from baptizing their four
children, Fanny, Rebekah, Felix, and Paul, in the Lutheran Church, and
from converting to the Lutheran faith themselves in 1816, when they moved from
French occupied Hamburg to Berlin, hence the added surname Bartholdy.
Oddly enough, Felix resisted the name change, and kept the last name of
Mendelssohn.
The move to Berlin proved to be beneficial for young Felix, who had received
prior musical instruction from his sister Fanny, as it was there he studied the
piano under Ludwig Berger and composition with Karl. F. Zelter. Visiting
friends of the family were also a positive influence on the Mendelssohn
children, as most of them were intellectuals who were involved in the arts and
other cultural activities. From a young age, Felix Mendelssohn showed the
true talent of a prodigy, playing both the piano and the violin, painting, and
being gifted in languages.
Felix traveled to Paris to study the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and
Johann Sebastian Bach with his sister Fanny. Truly inspired by the masters, particularly
Bach, he composed eleven symphonies, five operas, and many other
pieces for the piano. This was only the beginning for the young musical
genius, who impressed audiences and artists alike with his precocious talent.
