Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn (commonly known as Felix Mendelssohn) was born in Hamburg, Germany on February 3, 1809. He was a composer, conductor, pianist and organist who imbued his classical music compositions with romance and expressiveness. In 1812, his father moved the family to Berlin and changed the family name to Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Mendelssohn began his study of piano from his mother at a young age. In 1817 at age eight he began his formal studies in composition with Carl Friedrich Zelter. His first public performance was at age nine at one of the weekly concerts held at his father's house. These concerts helped broaden his musical and compositional ability.
In 1819 he joined the Singakademie (which began as a private gathering of music lovers). He became very prolific turning out multiple compositions each year. The first public performance of Mendelssohn's compositions was in 1822. In 1829, he conducted the first performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion since Bach's death in 1750. The performance was an immense success and led to a revival of Bach's works.
In the 1830's Mendelssohn spend almost three years touring various European cities before returning to Germany. In 1833, he was appointed general musical director in Dusseldorf as the result of his success as the conductor of the Lower Rhine Music Festival. He turned Leipzig into a musical center of European significance when he was appointed director of the Gewandhaus concerts. In 1836, Mendelssohn received an honorary doctorate from the University of Leipzig. He continued his prolific outpouring of compositions.
He was appointed the music director of the Academy of Arts in Berlin and in 1843 founded the Leipzig Conservatory of Music. During his career he gave performances in France, England, Scotland, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland as well as his home country of Germany.
In 1844 his health began to fail; a major blow to his health was the death of his sister, Fanny, in 1847. He died in Leipzig on November 4, 1847. A cause of death was never determined.
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