Felix Mendelssohn

Biography

Felix Mendelssohn is one of the best known early Romantic composers. A child prodigy, from a young age Mendelssohn showed great talent, though his parents were cautious to capitalise on this at the time. He made his first concert appearance around the age of nine, and as a teenager had many of his compositions performed in private concerts. He is often compared with Mozart, due to the large number of works that he composed at a young age.

Mendelssohn quickly became popular throughout Germany, and soon became a firm favourite with British audiences. He met Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on a number of occasions, who both admired his music. Many of his later works were written or premiered in Britain, and he edited a large amount of Handel's music for British publishers. Though he died relatively young (in his late thirties), Mendelssohn left behind a large amount of music, which is still frequently heard to this day.