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
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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.