4 Quotes & Sayings By Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn was born in 1809 in Hamburg, Germany. He was a child prodigy, who began piano lessons at the age of three. At the age of 10, he published his first work of music, a set of twelve preludes and fugues. These were followed by a number of other compositions and arrangements Read more

Mendelssohn received his first professional musical offer at the age of 11. By the age of 13, he had won nine first prizes for composition and had been appointed concertmaster at the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. The following year, at the age of 14, he wrote his Second Overture to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." His First Symphony premiered in Leipzig in 1829.

In 1831, Mendelssohn composed his famous "scherzo" movement from Handel's oratorio "Messiah." In 1832, Napoleon attempted to make Mendelssohn part of his newly formed imperial household as a chamber musician. Mendelssohn rejected this offer and left home permanently to accept an appointment as teacher and director of music at the newly founded Berlin Conservatory. His students included Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms.

1
People usually complain that music is so ambiguous, and what they are supposed to think when they hear it is so unclear, while words are understood by everyone. But for me it is exactly the opposite...what the music I love expresses to me are thoughts not to indefinite for words, but rather too definite. Felix Mendelssohn
2
People often complain that music is too ambiguous, that what they should think when they hear it is so unclear, whereas everyone understands words. With me, it is exactly the opposite, and not only with regard to an entire speech but also with individual words. Felix Mendelssohn
3
These seem to me so ambiguous, so vague, so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music, which fills the soul with a thousand things better than words. Felix Mendelssohn