Felix Mendelssohn

Germany, 1825–1847

Prodigy composer, conductor and pianist. The Octet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Violin Concerto unite Classical clarity with Romantic colour.

MusicRoots documents 3 artists who influenced Felix Mendelssohn and 2 artists Felix Mendelssohn influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Felix Mendelssohn?

• Johann Sebastian Bach — Mendelssohn revived Bach's St Matthew Passion in 1829 — the performance that launched the modern Bach revival — and built his own counterpoint on Bach's model.
• Ludwig van Beethoven — Mendelssohn's early chamber works, especially the string quartets, directly engage with late Beethoven's forms and devices.
• George Frideric Handel — Mendelssohn edited Handel's oratorios and modelled his own Elijah and St Paul directly on the Handelian oratorio.

Which artists did Felix Mendelssohn influence?

• Anton Rubinstein — Mendelssohn remained Rubinstein's lifelong idol — he programmed his music constantly, and his own solo piano works echo Mendelssohn throughout.
• Gilbert and Sullivan — Sullivan spent 1858-61 at the Leipzig Conservatory as a Mendelssohn Scholar, trained in the Mendelssohn manner — the conservatory technique under the comedy.