Felix Mendelssohn (b. Hamburg, 1809; d. Leipzig, 1847)

Born into a wealthy, intellectual, artistic family, Mendelssohn began studying piano with his mother at an early age. He made his public debut as a pianist at age nine and composed his first piece at age eleven. Thereafter, he produced numerous sonatas, concertos, symphonies for strings, piano quartets, and Singspiels. At age sixteen he composed the Octet for Strings, and at seventeen he wrote the overture to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Mendelssohn worked tirelessly as a conductor and music organizer. In 1829 he directed a performance of J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion at the Berlin Singakademie, reviving an interest in Bach that has continued to the present. His choral works include the oratorios Elijah and St. Paul, Die erste Walpurgisnacht (on Goethe's poem greeting springtime), and the Leipzig psalm settings. Other notable compositions are the G minor Piano Concerto, the Italian and Scottish symphonies, a violin concerto, and the Piano Trio in C minor. Mendelssohn died at age thirty-eight after a series of strokes.