Travel tips for classic lovers – Leipzig and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

Mendelssohn’s first appearance as newly appointed Gewandhauskapellmeister in 1835 was triumphant. The 25-year-old Robert Schumann was an enthusiastic witness to his inaugural concert, and the two maintained a friendship from then on. The Gewandhaus would also become the premiere venue for two of Schumann’s symphonies. As a musician and artistic director, Mendelssohns became the prototype of the modern conductor. With structured rehearsals, the conductor became the artistic authority who (newly) equipped with baton tried to implement the composer’s will. It attracted much attention that Mendelssohn, equipped with a phenomenal memory, conducted many of the works by heart. Mendelssohn was perhaps the most respected musician in Europe at the time, and in the 12 years (with interruptions) until his death, he led his Gewandhaus Orchestra to the very highest level of excellence with European appeal. Mendelssohn encouraged young musicians such as Schumann and Berlioz, whom he had met in Rome and with whom he maintained a warm friendship. At a guest concert of the Frenchman in Leipzig, the two exchanged batons.

Mendelssohn realized that the previous musical system produced too much mediocrity. Orchestral musicians had to perform in public houses in the evenings to supplement their salaries, and the training of young musicians was left to chance. Thus, Mendelssohn became decisively involved in improving the pay of orchestra musicians and, in an unprecedented show of strength, founded a Leipzig conservatory with four comrades-in-arms. Among the first teachers were Robert Schumann and his concertmaster and confidant Ferdinand David.

In 1836 Mendelssohn had met his future wife in Frankfurt. The wedding was celebrated in Cécile Jeanrenaud’s hometown of Frankfurt, after which she moved in with Felix in Leipzig, where the two had five children. Cécile sang and played the piano, but her passion was painting. She was a reserved person and thus did not have the role of the classical “muse” of the romantic composer, but gave Felix the support he needed to work through his immense workload. Of Mendelssohn’s three residences in Leipzig, the last still survives; the house at Goldschmidtstrasse 12 (then Königsstrasse) now houses the Mendelssohn Museum.

Mendelssohn remained immensely productive as a composer despite his multiple burdens as husband, father, artistic director, conductor, performing artist, conservatory director, traveling artist. His Leipzig years include the composition of his Elijah oratorio (premiered in Birmingham), his second piano concerto, and the famous violin concerto. Mendelssohn thus entered the hamster wheel of the art world, for which he paid tribute in his later years. The forties showed more and more an exhausted man with burn-out syndrome, which became the trigger for his early death after the death of his sister Fanny.

In May 1847, while on a concert tour, the catastrophic news of his sister Fanny’s death reached him. Mendelssohn was stunned, interrupted all his activities, and escaped on a solitary vacation trip to Switzerland. When he returned, he suffered his first stroke in Leipzig in early October. After further strokes, he lost consciousness and died at his home on November 4, 1847, at the age of 38. After a funeral service in Leipzig, his body was transferred to Berlin on a special train and buried in the Trinity Cemetery in the Mendelssohn family grave next to his beloved sister.