The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-02-03
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Among that great \ galaxy Of I'm
mo7tals given tosthe world BY the yea
1909, not the isaaty ywas Jacob Ludwig
Felix Mendelsaon- artho1dy. com
monty known sinply as Meaaelsshon
one , Of the greatest composers 0, hl'
time. il not d ali time. He was borr
In Hamburg On February 3.;lSo9. ant
the centennial 81 his birth Is cele
brated today By 9music-lovtng people
the world over. 81 Il 2sf {.
The birth OF Mendelyhon followed
by a few days THAT Of Edgar Allan
Poe. the genius sof poetry and pre-
cstied by but a short time. the brit,
OF Abraham Lincoln. the master
statesman, and Charles Darwin. the
shining light Of nineteenth century
science. Chopin, the Poet Of the
planotorte,; was born March /, 1909
less than a month after Mendelsshon
The great composer had distinguish
ed ancestry, his grandfather. Moses
Mendelsshon, having been famous as
"a. philosopher and savant. His dis
cussions Of metaphysics we're learned
and exhaustive In style and are still
widely read by German scholars. The
philosopher mad three sons. OF these
Abraham became q banter in Ham
burg and married aJewess, Lea salo'
mon !Bartaoldy. Of this union four
children were born and were educat'
ed as Christians ne second Of these
children, was he who attained fame as
one Of the worlds greatest composers,
Mendelsshon' S musical! ability was
early manifested. and at the tender
age u 8 We ind hin: playins IN public
and executing almost perfectly the
most difficult planoforte parts. At 10
he became a stdaentin q Berlin music
school. AT iii he was a&tull fledged
cou,poser,3h earliest dated work be,
Ing q cantata completed in January,
lsoo.t During that year he produced
nearly SIXTY movements. and in tae
following year essayed five sympho-
nlesifor stringed instruments. an
opera. and an immense output Of 9th
er Musical works. Genius has seldom
had such percocity as was evidenced
BY the music.nlad Menhalsshon.
At;the age Of 1s, his father took the
boy prodigy to Paris, where he met
Rosslni, Meyerbeer, Hummcl and
many other artists Of vide celebrity,
Returning to Germany. the boy began
work on what was destined. to be one
Of his greatest successes, and at the
age OF II ne had before him the fn'
ishcd score OF the overture to ".Nld'
summer Nights Dream" 1t was first
publicly performed at stettin, in Feb
ruary, 1927. - 3s. r.
In 1899 the youthful composer be
gan u system Of tours arranged by his
father. London was the first city Wis
tied and the boy was given an enthu'
slastic reception. In 1880 he visited
italy, pauslng on i,is way at Weimar
for brief but memorable visit with
Goethe. For six years he Travelled
about England and the continent,
working steadily upon the great com
positions that grew into magnificent
melodies under the magic ,inflreqce Of
his genius 1si
At the age Of 2S Mendelsshoh mar
Red ceclle, Charlotte Sophie. Jean
renaild, an anhable and beautiful To'
man. The honeymoon was spent In
England. where the composer con
ductea his famous oratorio, st, Paul,
at the Birmingham music festival. %
In 1871, after a sixth visit to Lon
don. Mendelsshon was recalled to
Berlin by the king Of Prussia, who
conferred upon him the title OF Ka'
pellmeister.a the period that followed
was waas Smarked by the production Of
some Of his most famous compositions,
but It was also accompanied by much
ycxatlon Of spirit. and In 1912 he per
sualed his royal patron to release him
from. some Of his oneroSt engage
ments. Il, 4.
In$1s46 Mendolsshon first produced
Elijah and in the following year he
visited England for the tenth and last
time, witnessing the first appearance
Of hls friend and comrade, Jenny Lind
at Her Majesty's Theater. Returning
to Frankfort, he learned OF the deatnn
| Of his sister, Fanny, and the blow to
his loving and sensitive spirit was SC
great that he fell to the ground lnsen'
sible.:In vain his relatives and friends
attempted to rally him from the spirit