MENDELSSOHN-THE MAN AND THE MUSICIAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14441, 6 February 1909, Page 13

MENDELSSOHN-THE MAN AND THE MUSICIAN

A CENTENARY SKETCH. To the noble artist who, surrciinded by Ibe Ibial-wor.ship of debased art, has been aide by his genius and science to preserve faithfully, iilic another Klijah, the worship of true ' art, and mice more to accustom our ear, amid the whirl of empty frivolous founds, to tho pure tono of sympathetic feeling and legitimate harni'iny, to Ilie gient niasier who malic* us conscious of tlie unity of his conception through the whole maze of his creation, from the soft whisperii to tho mighty of Iho elements: inscribed in grateful remembrance by Alii rut. Buckingham Palace, April 21, Ift 17. (Written by the Pritico Consort in the word-hook of Klijah, after the second performance) in London.) . I.—MENDELSSOHN, THE MAN. " Mendelssohn was essentially a man who belonged to the world of his time, lie wrote for it, he worked for it, he inula himself attractive for it; he was received by kind's and princes on terms of equality, just on account of the immediate attractiveness of his music; he was worshipped by tile public; be never knew what, it was to have more than small failures; l:o stretched his artistic output from 1/eipzig to liirinincham: he played the pianoforte score of the ninth symphony to duel lie; lie sal, for his portraits as a genius should, showing a. liberal expanse of forehead; the very rumour of his death, nti his age, seemed incredible to his townspeople. In fact, he lmd every success in lii'e—a success which never attended Hie footsteps of Mozart, Ileethoveii, and liaclf, lnil. a success which, making him immediately popular, has in the passage of time somewhat thinned out the effectiveness of his art.' 1

fin writes Vei 'noil I'lackburu in his hi»Jjraphical appreciation nf Moiidebcohn in Hell's " Miniiiline Scries of Musicians"; ami 11 if re can he ihi '.Kii.inwiviiiu (Ik- fact •that shortly after his death Mendels/iolm's fame as musician iiiid popularity as a man suffered decline. Into the causes which tended In this result, we shall dwell fur a moment when discussM!); Mendelssohn as a musician, hut there are no! wanting B tiiat In l is coming to his mvn our.' more. .And the swini; hack of the pendulum will doubtless lie accelerated by (lie CBiileiiiirv celebrations now proceeding in many cities during the present week.

".lakoli Ludwiu' Felix Mendelssohnliartiioldy was horn at Hamburg in the (Irosse Michaelisstrausc, Xo. 14,° Frida.v, February .1 1809. That. was. at all event's. ;i lucky Friday." With these words Sir Cleorge drove, in his "Dictionary of Music and Musieians." commences his masterly sketch of Mendelssohn's career, to which w will only add the fact thai, Ihe lion.-!! at. the corner of the ]!riinncu«lia«se is now marked by a. mural tablet, the lovim,' tribute of the artist couple, Madam:' Lind(toldrchmidt and her husband. And by a f-.lrani!!' coincidence. as Mr Slcphen S. iSlral(on points out in his informative biography, Ferdinand David, aftenviirds to be Co closely associated with Mendelssohn's work at Leipzig, was horn in the fame house less than n. year later—January 19, 1810. 'I lie points of interest in the Mendelssohn pedigree are concisely summed up liy Grove a; follows:—

llio family was already well known from Mca* Mendelssohn, the, grandfather of Felix, " till! modern Plato," wlickc. " Pliadon," a dialogue njion the immortality of the soul, Ihucml upon the , I'luwlo of I'lalo, was linnslatcil, long before Iho birth of his illtislriou.s grandson, into almost every European, and at' least one Asiatic, language. Moses was

the Min of Mendel, a poor .Jewish schoolmaster, and the mmio MemlelFsolm—

i.e., son of .Mendel—is the ordinary .Jewish or Orienl-'il way of forming a name. Moses migrated' to I'crlin, and died I hero in 1706. He was a. small, humpbacked man. with a lavn, eager face, bright eyes, and a humorous mouth.

The first peculiarity was traceable in his grandchild Fanny, and the bright tyes were one of Felix's most noticeable characteristics. , Abraham, the second soil, married Leah iSalainon, of a Jewish family in ISerlin, and settled in Hamburg, remaining there fill 1811. There weie born to him Jj'anny Ceeilie (.Vovember 14. 1806), Jakob Ludvig Felix (Fehruarv 3. 1809), and Debeka (April 11. 1811). During t | K . Freocb occupation of Hamburg life became intolerable, and shortly after lichcka's birth Ihe whole family eseSped in disguise to Berlin, where tliey started

the eminent, banking-house which hears their natii'). Leah Nalamon liad a. lirolher who had become a Christian, and had adopted the name of I'arlholdy. Me was an accomplished art critic,' and in his later vears luul resided at- Homo as Prussian Consulgeueral. lie urged upon his brother-in-law the advisability of bringing up his chilo'n uin Hie Christian faith.'and advised lum lo add the name of ISartholdy to his own. Abraham look the advice.'mid the three children were baptised nccordiii" to the rite; of the Lutheran Church. °

In 1816, when Felix was seven rears old liis father, having business in Paris in connection with the payment, of Ihe war .indemnity by France to Prussia, took his family with him. There it was that Felix learned the pianoforte under a. sin"iilarlv sympathetic tocher. Madame ISigof. No rapid was his progress iu music that m 1818, being but nine years old. Felix made lus liifit appearance in public, and he wins to have achieved a genuinely popular success at the pianoforte in a trio for that, instrument and two horns. The next event, of his boyhood was his entering the Ningakadcmie when 11 years old. He'\iii" alto, and Devricut. in'his " Kecolled ion.' vf rnnnrks;—

Hi' tool,. bis rlace amongst the ,r rown people in liis child's suit, ;l tight fittinii jacket, cut very low at the iurk, and with full trousers buttoned over it. Into the slanting pockets of these be liked to thrust hi.s hands, rocking bis eu.-lv head (lie had long, brown curls) from side to side, ami shifting restlessly from one foot to the other.

Tin! marvellous boy—for it has been well said [Jiiit, a purl from liis art, .Mendelssohn remained a boy all his life—began composition in 1819, and up to. 1820 it is computed that, lie lint! written from 50 to 60 movements. The.-o include a trio for pianoforte and strings, a sonata for pianoforte and violin, a sonata for pianoforte, four picees for the organ, some songs, a little comedy in three stones, 1 and «i (-.infata. The earliest date is that attached to the cantata, January l.\. iSSO. Thefo JISN. form part of the collet'lion of 54 volumes now iu the lioyal Miliary. Dcrliii, and from the lirst the wonderful Heatings of his penmanship is evident, this neatness corrcsi>onding lo a certain cliaract<'r in b;<s music. The great event of the year 1821 was young Mendelssohn's journey to Weimar to visit the poet God-lie, which visit St.rat ton thus di'senlies

This was the lirst time Felix bad left home without, his ]iarvnts. The rugged, jjotxMirartfd (-arl Ze.lter, the friend of (ioet.be, was desirous of 'iitrcducing his brilliant pupil to the poet, and in November tiicy arrived al Weimar, and spent a iorliiiighl undor the pool'/; roof. His inotbor, writing to Aunt Henrietta, sitfs; "Just Imi, that, ilte littlo

wretch is to have the luck of going to Weimar with Zelter tor a snort time! . . The " little wretch " was not long in communicating with the family at home. His letter front Weimar, November 6, 1821, tin: earii'.'st that has appeared in print, shows already some of the facility and style tuat was afterwards to characterise this prince of letter-writers. " Now stop and listen, all of you," he writes. " To-day is Tuesday. Oil Saturday tho Sun of Weimar, Goethe, arrived. We went, to church in the morning, and heard half of Handel's 100 th Psalm. . . . After this 1 went to the ' Elephant,' where 1 sketched the house of Lucas Cianach. Two hours afterwards Professor Zelter came and said : ' Goethe has conic—the old gentleman's come!' and in a minute we were down the steps and ill Goethe's house, lift was in the garden, and was just coining round tiio corner. Isn't it f,t I'aup'. dear fat tie;- ? That was exactly how you met 'him. lie is very kind, but 1 don't think any of the pictures lire like, him."

Felix played to the poet, and even improvised. an art he had recently begun to practise. Goethe tested his powers of sight-reading by placing before him manuscript,; of Mozart and licetjioven, and was delighted with his talent. Felix, quite at hour.', was very happy with the aged pod. He write*: "Every morning I get, a kiss from the, author of ' Faust' and ' Wert her,' and every afterneon two kisser, from my friend and lather Goethe, Think of that!"

As showing the boy's powers of observation and description, a further quotation from the Weimar letters may be given. Wiiiing of Goethe, he says:

" It. does mil strike me that his (inure is imposing; lie is not much taller than father: bill his look, his language, Ins name—they are imposing. The amount nf HMiud in his voice is wonderful, and lie can shout- like ten thousand warriors. Mis hair i!; not yet white, life step is firm, his wa-v of speaking mild." This from a boy of 11 is good. During bis stay fit Weimar Felix played to the Grand Duke and Duchess, and improvised before the Court and in the presence, of Hummel. His sonata in G minor, just completed, was much praised. 11 is proud mother sent his letters to Tante Jette at Paris, who wrote in reply: "If God spare him, his letters will in loll';", long years to come create the deepest interest. Take care of them as a holy relic—indeed, they are sacred already as Ibe effusion of so pure, childlike a- mind." Mendelssohn's lettcm indeed belong to literature, and lhaf, of a very high description. They will outlive some of his musical compositions. (To be continued.)