159 / 184
·amura·
153
.eet tIe mVTic • .|TicB
V
arios compositores, todos extranjeros,
se deKaron cautiWar por la belle[a natu-
ral de Escocia y sus rarces folklwricas.
Surgieron algunas composiciones Rue
forman parte del repertorio bgsico y es
un placer comentarlas.
FeliYBartholdyMendelssohnnaciwenHamburgo,Ale-
mania, el 3 de febrero de 1809 y muriw en Leip[ig el 4 de
noWiembrede1847. 1ocos son los faWorecidos con la suer-
te de la fortuna ypor su sonrisa tierna se ganw el apodo de
£el feli[”Mendelssohn. El amor de sus padres, obWiamente
gentiles y sensibles, ledio losmeKores tutores garanti[an-
do una educaciwn completa. El hogar de los Mendelssohn
y sus Kardines en Berlrn se conWirtieron en un rendeWous
musical abierto tan pronto como el KoWen FnliY aplicw su
batuta a una orRuesta KuWenil Rue habra organi[ado para
los domingos. cl tocaba el piano, el wrgano y la Wiola, ade-
mgs de componerm|sica para estas tertulias.
Los compases Rue describen a las hadas del Suevo
de una Noche de 7erano Rue compuso a los 17 avos a|n
eKercen su encantamiento. A los Weinte se programw y
dirigiw a profesionales en una resurrecciwn de la 1asiwn
seg|n San Mateo, de Bach, Rue nadie conocra. 1rendi-
do por la belle[a del contenido, hi[o lo humanamente
posible para abrirse el ordo al genio de Bach. La funda-
ciwn del Bach (esellschaft Asociaciwn de Bach en 1850
despuns de la muerte de Mendelssohn es uno de los
muchos resultados de sus esfuer[os.
7iaKw incansablemente atrayendo la meKor m|-
sica e intnrpretes fuera a donde fuera. Bien pare-
cido, uno de los meKores pianistas de sus tiempos
y lingista destacado fue estimado especialmente
en Londres Rue en mucho prefiriw a 1arrs. Sus car-
tas son encantadoras y describen WiWamente las
eYperiencias de sus WiaKes.
Cuando se conWirtiw en director del (ewandhaus
de Leip[ig, duplicw sus actiWidades dominicales de
su KuWentud. Rossini y Chopin lo Wisitaron, Ferdinand
DaWid era su Wiolrn concertino y formw una profunda
amistad con Robert Schumann. Dirigiw la sinfonra La
(ran do mayor de Schubert, descubierta por Schu-
mann en 7iena. 0rgani[w y dirigiw el primer Conser-
Watorio Alemgn de M|sica en Leip[ig al cual atraKo
a un brillante grupo de maestros, ademgs de WiaKar
regularmente de Leip[ig a Berlrn y a Dresden para di-
rigir las orRuestas de la Corte. Su Wida hogareva al
lado de su esposa y cinco hiKos era feli[.
+ascha Heifet[, el famoso Wiolinista diKo de su m|sica:
£Si es concebible Rue la m|sica de Mendelssohn pudiera
morir, entonces toda lam|sica puede perecer”. MaraWillo-
samente pulida y uida, se le acusa de tener poca profun-
didad pero en su camino natural y ordenado brillan melo-
dras deliciosas Rue pueden compensar cualRuier carencia.
Las Sinfonras *taliana, Escocesa yReforma y la obertura de
la (ruta de Fingal son obras programgticas plenas de ima-
ginaciwn el oratorio Elras es una de las grandes creaciones
corales del gnnero, asr como las canciones y pie[as para
piano y el irresistible Concierto para 7iolrn estgn a la altura
de losmgs altos logros. Al perpetuar los ideales deMo[art
y Bach, en el desarrollo de compositores contemporgneos
y reWiWir a aRuellos Wrctimas de lanegligencia enel pasado,
le hi[o a la m|sica un serWicio inWaluable. Sus atributos
personales yprofesionales son tan admirables Rue pensar
en sumuerte prematura es doloroso. Tenra 38 avos.
V
arious composers, all foreigners,
succumbed by the natural beauty of
Scotland in it’s folkloric roots. They
gave birth to compositions that form
part of the basic repertoire and it is a
pleasure to recommend them.
Felix Bartholdy Mendelssohn was born in
Hamburg, Germany, on February the 3rd of 1809
and died in Leipzig the 4th of November at 1847.
On few occasions does fortune smile so tenderly
as it did on Felix “the happy” Mendelssohn. The
loving kindness of wise parents provided the best
tutors money could buy. The rambling Mendels-
sohn house and garden in Berlin became a musi-
cal rendezvous as soon as the boy Felix started
to wield a baton over a youthful orchestra he as-
sembled on Sundays. He played piano, organ and
viola, and composed music too for these parties.
The fairy measures of the Midsummer Night’s
Dream Overture which he wrote at seventeen still
weave an enchanted spell. At twenty, as a result of
one of these amateur performances, he conducted
professionals in a revival of Bach’s long neglected
Sr. Matthew Passion. Fired by its beauty, he did all
he could from then on to open people’s ears to the
genius of Bach. The formation of the Bach Gesell-
schaft (Bach Association) in 1850, after Mendels-
sohn’s death, was largely the result of his efforts.
He traveled widely, attracting like a magnet
the best music and musicians wherever he went.
Handsome, one of the finest pianists of his time,
and an accomplished linguist, he was dearly be-
loved, especially in London, which he much pre-
ferred to Paris. His letters are charming, and give
a vivid picture of his wanderings.
When he became conductor of the Gewandhaus
Orchestra in Leipzig, he duplicated on a large scale
the Sundaymusicals of his youth. Rossini and Chopin
visited him, Ferdinand David was his concert master,
Schumann and he became close friends, and here he
conducted Schubert’s Cmayor Symphony, discovered
by Schumann in Vienna. He organized and headed
the first German Conservatory of Music, in Leipzig, to
which he attracted a brilliant staff of teachers, and he
traveled regularly from Leipzig to Berlin and Dresden
to conduct the court orchestra. His home life with his
wife andfive childrenwas happy.
Of his music Heifetz, the violinist, has said: “If it
is conceivable that the music of Mendelssohn can
die, then all music can die”. Wonderfully polished
and fluent, it is accused of having little depth, but
its effortless orderly sparkle and flowing melody
can compensate for any real or fancied lack. The
Italian, Scottish and Reformation Symphonies and
the Fingal’s Cave Overture are imaginative program
music at its best, the oratorio Elijah is one of the
great choral works of literature, the songs and piano
pieces and singing violin concerto hold their own in
any company. In perpetuating the ideals of Mozart
and Bach, in developing contemporary composers
and reviving neglected ones of the past, he did mu-
sic an inestimable service. His attributes, personal
and professional, are so lovable that even at this
date the thought of his early death is painful.