1809. His grandfather was the famous philosopher, Moses Mendelssohn; his

father, a successful banker. Both were of Jewish origin. When Felix was still a boy, however, his immediate family was converted to Protestantism, the occasion upon which they added the name of “Bartholdy” to their own to distinguish them from the other members of their family. A pupil of Ludwig Berger and Karl Friedrich Zelter, Felix was extraordinarily precocious in music. When he was seven and a half he made a successful appearance as pianist in Berlin; by the time he was twelve he had already written operas and symphonies; and in his seventeenth year he produced an unqualified masterwork in the _Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream_. In 1827, one of his operas was produced in Berlin, but by that time he had already completed thirteen symphonies and a library of chamber music as well. In 1829, Mendelssohn conducted in Berlin the first performance of Bach’s _Passion According to St. Matthew_ to be given since Bach’s own day. This concert became a powerful influence in reviving interest in Bach’s music, which at that time had been languishing in both neglect and obscurity. A few weeks after Mendelssohn had directed a repeat performance, he made his first trip to England where he led the première of a new symphony and was made honorary member of the Royal Philharmonic. A tour of Scotland that followed immediately was the inspiration for his overture, _Fingal’s Cave_. In 1833, Mendelssohn served as musical director of the city of Duesseldorf. He held this post only six months. Much more significant was his engagement as the principal conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig in 1835 which, during the five years of his leadership, was elevated to a position of first importance among the world’s symphony orchestras. In 1841, Mendelssohn became head of the music department of a projected Academy of Arts in Berlin. This appointment did not prevent him from visiting England where he was received with an adulation accorded to no foreign musician since Handel. Returning to Berlin he found that the Academy of Arts project had been abandoned. He was now made Kapellmeister to the King, an honorary post allowing him complete freedom of activity and movement. During the next few years he conducted concerts of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, and paid two more highly successful visits to England. He was also instrumental in helping to found the Leipzig Conservatory in 1843. Always of delicate health and sensibilities, Mendelssohn collapsed at the news that his beloved sister, Fanny, died in 1847. He died in Leipzig soon after that, on November 4, 1847. The finest qualities of German Romantic music can be found in Mendelssohn. He had the Romantic’s partiality for fantasy and the supernatural, together with the lightness of touch with which to create such worlds through music. He had the Romantic’s gift for translating natural scenes, landscapes and lyric poetry into sensitive tone pictures. He had a most winning lyricism and graceful harmonic and orchestral gift, and he never lacked the ability to charm and enchant his listeners with the most tender and lovable musical expression. Other composers may have written profounder or more emotionally stirring music than Mendelssohn; but no one could be more ingratiating, sensitive, or refined. Some of Mendelssohn’s serious symphonic works are so full of the most wonderful melodies and beguiling moods that they have the universal appeal of semi-classics. The concert overture, _Fingal’s Cave_, or as it is also sometimes known, _Hebrides Overture_, op. 26 (1832) was inspired by the composer’s visit to the Scottish Highlands in 1830. The opening theme in lower strings and bassoons suggests the roll of the waves at the mouth of a cave, a melody that came to the composer while visiting the caves of Staffa. This idea is developed, then a second beautiful melody unfolds in cellos and bassoons. The orchestral suite, _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_, op. 61 is derived from the incidental music comprising thirteen numbers which Mendelssohn wrote for a Potsdam production of the Shakespeare comedy in 1843; the Overture, however, was a fruit of the composer’s youth, having been written in 1826. The magic world of fairies and elves which Mendelssohn projected so delicately in his youthful overture is preserved in many of the numbers he wrote seventeen years later. The Overture, op. 21, is initiated with four sensitive chords, and proceeds with fleeting, diaphanous music for strings with which we are suddenly plunged in fairyland. The main thematic material to follow comprises a haunting song for horn, a romantic episode for woodwind and strings, and a sprightly fairy dance for strings. Three other musical sections from this incidental music, and basic to the orchestral suite, are famous. The “Nocturne” is a broad, moody song for horns. The “Scherzo”—like the Overture—is a picture of the world of fairies, gnomes and elves, though in a more energetic and spirited vein. The “Wedding March” is now one of the most frequently played pieces of wedding music, second in popularity only to Wagner’s wedding music from _Lohengrin_; it first became popular as wedding music at the nuptials of the English Princess in London in 1858. A trumpet fanfare leads to the dignified march melody which is twice alternated with melodious trio sections. “On Wings of Song” (“_Auf Fluegeln des Gesanges_”), op. 34, no. 2 (1834) is Mendelssohn’s best-known song, a melody of incomparable loveliness and serenity. The poem is by Heine. Franz Liszt transcribed it for piano; Joseph Achron for violin and piano; Lionel Tertis for viola and piano. It has also enjoyed various orchestral transcriptions. _Ruy Blas_, op. 95 (1839)—like _Fingal’s Cave_—is a concert overture for orchestra; here the inspiration is the drama of Victor Hugo. Four solemn bars for wind instruments lead to the principal subject, first violins and flutes; clarinets, bassoons, and cellos later offer the second contrasting staccato theme. The _Spinning Song_ and the _Spring Song_ are both instrumental favorites, and both come from the _Songs Without Words_ (_Lieder ohne Worte_), for solo piano. The form of “song without words” is a creation of Mendelssohn: a brief composition of such essentially lyric character that it is virtually a “song” for the piano. Mendelssohn wrote forty-eight such pieces gathered in eight books. The _Spinning Song_ in C major appears in op. 67 as the fourth number (1844). This is a tender melody placed against a rhythmic background suggesting the whirring of a spinning wheel. The _Spring Song_ in A major is surely one of the most familiar tonal pictures of the vernal season to be found in the semi-classical literature; it appears in op. 62 (1842) as the concluding number. Both the _Spinning Song_ and _Spring Song_ appear in all kinds and varieties of transcriptions. The stirring _War March of the Priests_ is a number from the incidental music for Racine’s drama, _Athalie_, op. 74 (1843); this incidental music was first performed with the Racine play in Berlin in 1845. Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer was born in Berlin, Germany, on September 5, 1791. His name, at birth, was Jakob Liebmann Beer. When Meyer, a rich relative, left him a legacy, he decided to change his name to Meyerbeer; some years later upon initiating a career as composer of Italian operas he Italianized his name. His music study took place with Clementi, Zelter, Anselm Weber and Vogler, the last of whom encouraged him to write his first opera, _Jephtha’s Vow_ (_Jephtha’s Geluebde_), a failure when first performed in Munich in 1812. A second opera, performed in Stuttgart, was also a failure; Meyerbeer now seriously entertained the thought of abandoning composition altogether. The noted Viennese composer and teacher, Antonio Salieri, however, convinced him what he needed was more study. This took place in Italy where for several years Meyerbeer assimilated Italian traditions of opera. His first endeavor in this style was _Romilda e Costanza_, a success when introduced in Padua in 1817. During the next few years Meyerbeer wrote several more operas, some of them on commission, and became one of Italy’s most highly regarded composers for the stage. In 1826, Meyerbeer settled in Paris where association with composers like Cherubini and Halévy, made him impatient with the kind of operas he had thus far created. In 1831, with _Robert le Diable_, he entered upon a new artistic phase in which Italian methods, procedures and traditions were discarded in favor of the French. _Robert le Diable_, produced at the Opera on November 21, 1831 was a sensation. Meyerbeer continued writing operas in the French style for the remainder of his life. These are the operas by which he is most often represented in the world’s opera theaters: _Les Huguenots_ (1836), _Le Prophète_ (1849), and _L’Africaine_ (1865). Meyerbeer died in Paris on May 2, 1864. Meyerbeer was an exponent of drama in the grand style, his finest operas being filled with big climactic scenes, elaborate stage effects, and eye-filling visual displays. But he also had a pronounced dramatic gift, one which evoked from Wagner the highest admiration; and a pronounced expressiveness of lyricism. _L’Africaine_ (_The African_) is Meyerbeer’s last opera, and many regarded it as his best. He completed it in 1864 just before his death, and its world première at the Paris Opera took place posthumously on April 28, 1865. The text, by Eugène Scribe, is set in Lisbon and Madagascar in the 15th century. The main action concerns the love of Selika, an African queen, for the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama; Da Gama in turn is loved by Inez, daughter of Don Diego. Selika offers the explorer a secret route to the land of which she is queen, Madagascar, and with which Da Gama becomes enraptured. But when Inez appears, he abandons Selika for her, and leaves the magic island. Heartbroken, Selika kills herself by breathing the deadly fragrance of a manchineel tree. The opera’s most popular excerpt is Vasco da Gama’s rapturous tenor aria from the fourth act in which he describes the beauty of Madagascar, “_O Paradis_.” Another vocal favorite is the baritone ballad of Nelusko, slave of Selika, “_Adamastor, roi des vagues profondes_”; as he steers the ship bearing Selika and Vasco da Gama to Madagascar he sings of Adamastor, monarch of the sea, who sends ships to their doom on treacherous reefs. The _Coronation March_ (_Marche du couronnement_)—music of pomp and circumstance—comes from the opera _Le Prophète_, first performed at the Paris Opéra on April 16, 1849. Eugène Scribe’s libretto is based on an actual historical episode in 16th century Holland centered around the Anabaptist uprising, with John of Leyden, leader of the Anabaptists, as the principal character. In Act four, scene two, John is being crowned king outside the Muenster Cathedral. As a magnificent royal procession enters the Cathedral, the music of the _Coronation March_ matches in splendor and grandeur the visual majesty of this scene. Another popular musical excerpt for orchestra from this opera is Prelude to Act 3, a colorful and rhythmic Quadrille that leads into the opening scene of that act, providing the lively musical background for a ballet and ice-carnival skating scene. Liszt made a technically brilliant transcription for the piano of this Quadrille music. _Les Huguenots_ (_The Huguenots_) was first performed at the Paris Opéra on February 29, 1836, the year it was completed; the libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps. In 16th century Touraine and Paris, Raoul, a Huguenot nobleman, has saved the life of Valentine, daughter of the Catholic leader, St. Bris. She falls in love with Raoul, but the latter repudiates her, believing her to be the mistress of Count de Nevers. When he discovers he has been mistaken, Raoul risks his life to see her. During this visit he overhears a Catholic plot to massacre the Huguenots. After Raoul and Valentine get married, they are both murdered in the massacre—Valentine by her own father. The Overture to _Les Huguenots_ is built almost entirely from the melody of the famous Lutheran chorale, _Ein’ feste Burg_, which in the opera itself served as the musical symbol for militant Protestantism. The outstanding individual excerpts from the opera include Raoul’s beautiful romance from Act 1 describing the woman he has saved, “_Plus blanche que la blanche hermine_”; the rhapsodic description in the second act of the Touraine countryside by Marguerite de Valois, betrothed to Henry IV of Navarre, “_O beau pays de la Touraine_”; and in the fourth act the stirring “Benediction of the Swords,” (“_Gloire au grand Dieu vengeur_”) with which the Catholics are blessed by three monks on the eve of their holy war against the Huguenots. The exciting _Torch Dance_, No. 1, in B-flat is not from one of Meyerbeer’s operas. It was written in 1846 for the wedding of the King of Bavaria, and originally was scored for brass band. It is now most frequently heard in orchestral adaptations. Meyerbeer subsequently wrote two other _Torch Dances_: the second in 1850 for the wedding of Princess Charlotte of Prussia, and the third in 1853 for the wedding of Princess Anne of Prussia. Karl Milloecker Karl Milloecker was born in Vienna, Austria, on May 29, 1842. His father, a jeweler, wanted him to enter the family business, but from his childhood on, Karl was drawn to music. After studying music with private teachers, he attended the Conservatory of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. Meanwhile, in his sixteenth year, he supported himself by playing the flute in a theater orchestra. When his music study ended, he became conductor of a theater in Graz in 1864; there his first operetta was produced one year later. In 1866 he was back in Vienna, and from 1869 to 1883 he was principal conductor at the Theater-an-der-Wien where most of his famous operettas were produced including _Countess Du Barry_ (_Graefin DuBarry_) in 1879, _The Beggar Student_ (_Der Bettelstudent_) in 1882, _Gasparone_ in 1884, and _Poor Jonathan_ (_Der arme Jonathan_) in 1890. Milloecker died in Baden, near Vienna, on December 31, 1899. Milloecker’s most famous operetta is _The Beggar Student_ (_Der Bettelstudent_), which was first produced at the Theater-an-der-Wien in Vienna on December 6, 1882, and after that enjoyed highly successful performances at the Casino Theater in New York in 1883, and the Alhambra in London in 1884. The scene is Cracow, Poland; the time, 1704. General Ollendorf, spurned by Laura, evolves an elaborate plot to avenge himself. He finances the impoverished student, Symon, dresses him up as a lord, and sends him off to woo and win Laura. Only after the wedding does the General reveal the fact that Symon is a beggar. Just as disgrace faces the young man, he becomes involved in a successful maneuver to restore the rejected Polish king to his throne. Thus he acquires wealth and a title, and is welcomed with pride and love by Laura and her mother. Potpourris and selections from this tuneful operetta always include the principal waltz melody which comes as a first act finale, “_Ach ich hab’ sie ja nur auf die Schulter gekuesst_.” Other delightful excerpts include Symon’s mazurka, “_Ich knuepfte manche zarte Bande_,” his lament “_Ich hab’ kein Geld_,” and the second act duet of Symon and Laura, “_Ich setz den Fall_.” Moritz Moszkowski Moritz Moszkowski was born in Breslau, Germany, on August 23, 1854. He received his musical training at three leading German Conservatories: the Dresden Conservatory, the Stern Conservatory and Kullak Academy in Berlin. He began a career as pianist in 1873, touring Europe with outstanding success. He also achieved recognition as a teacher of the piano at the Kullak Academy. In 1897, he went into retirement in Paris where he lived for the remainder of his life. In 1899 he was elected a member of the Berlin Academy. Towards the end of his life his financial resources were completely depleted, and his fame as composer, pianist, and teacher had long been eclipsed. He died in poverty and obscurity in Paris on March 4, 1925. Though he wrote operas, ballets, suites, concertos and a symphony, Moszkowski was at his best—and is most famous today—for his lighter music in a Spanish idiom. Typical of his music in this style were the rhythmic _Bolero_, op. 12, no. 5, for piano solo; the languorous and haunting _Guitarre_, op. 45, no. 2, for piano solo (transcribed by Pablo de Sarasate for violin and piano); and the dashing _Malagueña_, from the opera _Boabdil_. But his most celebrated compositions are the delightful _Spanish Dances_, opp. 12, and 65, two books of pieces for piano solo or piano duo, which have been arranged for orchestra. The most popular are the first in C major, the second in G minor, and the fifth (a bolero) in D major. While none of these dances can be accepted as authentic Spanish music—actually they are only a German Romantic’s conception of what Spanish music is—they make most effective use of Spanish dance rhythms. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27,