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Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Mendelssohn; the Workaholic GeniusBy Robert HayesMendelssohn is one of those composers who; while never being denied the title of genius; doesnt get as much attention as others from the Romantic Era. He left behind an incredible corpus; and this book went into great detail on a lot of it. Todd does a great job handling the various narrative threads while also commenting on the music itself; replete with numerous musical examples. Something else that I wasnt expecting was the amount of time devoted to his sister; Fanny; who; it turns out; was extremely vital to his early musical development; and vice versa. Fanny Hensel definitely doesnt get the attention she deserves; and was glad she got it here. Also of importance was the discussion about Jews and assimilation in 19th century German society; a painful reminder of the limits to human tolerance that have unfortunately gained fresh relevance. Ultimately; though; I found this biography to be well-researched and written in an interesting way. Highly recommended for the musician and or historian in us.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. f you want to meet Mendelssohn; you must read this book.By Ralph C. SchultzTodds research is comprehensive and well documented. He put together the observations of Mendelssohns family and contemporaries with quotations of Felix in a style that makes one feel that you really know the man. The indices make it easy to find references to specific people and compositions. This is one of the best musicological treatises I have ever read. If you want to meet Mendelssohn; you must read this book.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The Most Able Man Who Ever LivedBy Cabin DwellerOne of the difficulties of "a life in music" biography is that reading without listening to the music being discussed is less informative but reading while listening to that music; of which there is much; is inconvenient. Here is another slow biography; not tedious; because of the depth of detail of musical analysis.Mendelssohn was from a prominent Jewish family in Germany. His ancestry is not an albatross for long. Without the knowledge of grandparents; he converted as a very young man along with others like his sister Fanny. This according to R. Larry Todd is a double life of little inconvenience. Culturally; this book and the life of both Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn is infinitely rich; life among geniuses without TV; hardly touched by moral impropriety. Fanny appears to have been as talented as her younger brother when both were fit to be shown to large audiences as the most precocious of prodigies. She then appears to have been deferred according to some sexism of the time; foreshadowing the many appearances of Clara Schumann.Mozart; of whom Felix Mendelssohn was well aware; was the standard in these demonstrations of virtuosity. On page 60; he is playing piano quartets 478 and 493. On page 106; "No work stimulated Felix as profoundly as the finale of the Jupiter symphony ... with its fugal counterpoint and sonata form". As a violinist; organist; composer; and pianist; 11 year old Felix composing his string symphonies. On page 148; Sir George Smart is introduced and is one of many of the dexterous types who know no limit for social and musical interaction. The book is full of kindly older mentors; "punctilious" men; who derive much pleasure from the tests Felix passes; including with his sister; with flying colors. This is where Octet; op 20 "catapulted Felix into the Western canon of great composers." Todd writes "No work of Mozart from a comparable age [16] matches the consummate skill of the Octet".Somewhat like Michelangelo Mendelssohn becomes all the state would have him to be. Like Charles Dickens; it allows him the experience of studying abroad. After; I believe; Midsummer Nights; England; Paris; Scotland; and Italy enhance the Germans impression of his craft. Berlin may have been the experience that wore on him the most. If this is not true; it is because I become overwhelmed with symphonies; cadenzas; chamber music; etudes; counterpoint; and arrangements of pieces that I did not know had been arranged. Felix becomes a tireless composer and disinterested rival to Wagner; the figure who takes the potshots in the book.Franz List; the Schumanns; the anti-Semitic Franz Schubert; flashes of Chopin; the showboat of them all Paganini. M. J. Guzikow impressed Felix as a "phenomenon inferior to no virtuoso in the world" but not for being Orthodox. Western Europe in the early 19th century is perhaps the zenith of cultural achievement in all of history. They were students and teachers; performers and writers; all at each others ear; debating the merits and the styles of Haydn and Beethoven and many lesser known composers. (There is a scene in the book when a long list of unknowns today are performed instead of the household names that have survived and thrived over the last 200 years.) There is Shakespeare; which would not surprise the mildest Mendelssohn fan; but there is also Sophocles; many pages of efforts at incidental music for Oedipal stories.When the book is not so wrapped up in musical notation and description; there are "life and times" tidbits. On page 258; Paris suffered a cholera epidemic. There were 800 daily fatalities. "Destitute Parisians" who thought the rich were poisoning them committed murders in the chaos. Felix had to survive by being confined to his room. This seemed more like the macabre stories I found in the Goethe biography I read but did not finish before beginning this more validated genius; which itself features Goethe. Another 19th century story: after working in London in 1832; Felix had musical plans filling up his calendar but also noted that he was to have "another cast made of his skull; in order to examine whether the cranial bumps" had changed much over the previous two years.The book accelerates. It appears it will go on forever on the ambition and ability of its subject. In fact it is speeding up to go off a cliff; and there is more than one quick and nearly anonymous death in the end which give evidence to how close to the sun Mendelssohn flew.