Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Felix Mendelssohn was one of the interesting anomalies of classical music; a stunningly talented composer who never went through the agonizing financial struggles and work-related travails that beset so many of his contemporaries and predecessors. He was born into a wealthy Hamburg family, studied the piano with his mother at an early age, and later took formal instruction on the piano from Carl Zelter in Berlin. When still only a child, he began to compose chamber works - his family often held chamber soirées in their home, and young Felix had ample opportunity to hone his craft on these impromptu ensembles. Soon he was composing trios, quartets and operettas, and was making his mark as a pianist; his public debut on the keyboard came at the age of nine. By the time Mendelssohn was seventeen, his fame as a musical prodigy was spreading; that year, his first great composition – the overture to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream - was produced. At twenty, Mendelssohn still had not created most of the works that would assure his place as one of the leading lights in classical music lore (except the profoundly brilliant Octet for Strings, written in 1825); he did, however, demonstrate his keen musical sensibilities in another way - the championing of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. In the 80-odd years between Bach's death and Mendelssohn's revival of Bach's music, the old Baroque master had gone unnoticed, his music almost forgotten entirely. Mendelssohn, noting this lapse in popular judgment, set about to make things right, and in 1829 he conducted a full-scale performance of Bach's crowning achievement, the St. Matthew Passion. The performance was a smashing success, and it began a reevaluation and appreciation of Bach's music that continues unabated to this day. Meanwhile, Mendelssohn was starting to forge a career of his own. In 1833, he applied for a faculty job at a prominent music school in Berlin, but was turned down. Later that year, however, he was appointed Music Director of the town of Düsseldorf; two years after that, he was offered the conductor's post by Leipzig's legendary Gewandhaus Orchestra. By this point, he had already begun to write symphonies, more chamber works, and one of his piano concertos, as well as one magnificent oratorio, St. Paul (1836). Ensuing career developments included a post at Berlin's Academy of the Arts and the origination of the Leipzig Conservatory in 1843. More works - the last symphonies, the Violin Concerto, the Wedding March - rolled from his pen before his health began to decline in 1846. Compounded by the death of his beloved sister, Mendelssohn's depression and decline proceeded until the next year, when he died at the tender age of 38. Many critics of Mendelssohn claim that his powers of inspired melody and sparkling orchestration were at their height when he was a teenager, and declined steadily throughout the duration of his career. It is true that some of his greatest works were written early in his career, but the inexorable power of his later symphonies, the brilliant perfection of the Violin Concerto, and the mature craft displayed in other works fly in the face of such claims. He was a composer of traditional Classical values, but to the rules of the trade he brought a delightful lyricism, a gift for orchestral colour, and a power of melody crafting that must be heard to be appreciated. He is one of music history's most under-rated geniuses. Felix Mendelssohn: Sinfonie Nr. 2 "Lobgesang" Mendelssohns aufrichtiger Protestantismus drückt sich in vielen seiner Werke aus und es war vor allem seine geistliche Musik, die ihm zu Ansehen verhalf, besonders in Deutschland und Großbritannien, wo er am meisten geschätzt wurde. Seine Popularität erreichte im späten 19. Jahrhundert einen Höhepunkt; in Deutschland hat die Verfemung seiner Werke durch den Nationalsozialismus leider einige nachhaltige Wirkungen gezeichnet, aber im traditionsreichen englischen Chorrepertoire haben beispielsweise seine großen Oratorien Paulus und Elias nach wie vor einen festen Platz. Man sah und sieht sie dort noch heute als direkte Nachfolger der großen Händelschen Oratorien und hat daher einen unmittelbaren Zugang zu ihnen. In diesen Zusammenhang gehört auch die Sinfonie Nr. 2, eine Kantate mit dem vom Komponisten selbst gewählten Titel Lobgesang, komponiert zur Feier des 400. Jahrestages der Erfindung der Buchdruckerkunst, der im Juni 1840 in Leipzig auf diese Weise begangen wurde. Kurz darauf wurde Mendelssohn eingeladen, die britische Erstaufführung beim Birmingham Festival zu dirigieren, wo er am 23. September desselben Jahres Stürme der Begeisterung entfachte. Eine daraufhin vom König von Sachsen befohlene Aufführung gab dem Komponisten Gelegenheit zu einer Überarbeitung und die um vier Stücke erweiterte Fassung erklang erstmals am 3. Dezember 1840 in Leipzig. Die Konzeption dieser Kantatensinfonie ist zweifellos von Beethovens Neunter angeregt. Der Anteil der Singstimmen ist in Mendelssohns Lobgesang allerdings ungleich größer, und angesichts seiner Länge wurde das Werk manchmal ohne die Orchestersätze aufgeführt. Der das Werk einleitende Posaunenruf ist zugleich ein einigendes Motiv, besonders für den lebhaften Kopfsatz. Das sanfte Scherzo steht an zweiter Stelle wie sein Gegenstück in Beethovens Neunter und ist mit dem Allegro und dem anschließenden Adagio religioso verknüpft. Die zwei eindrücklichsten Abschnitte des Chorteils sind das Duett "Ich harrete des Herrn" ("ein Blick in einen Himmel Raphaelscher Madonnenaugen", schrieb Robert Schumann) und die mit den Worten "Wir riefen in der Finsternis" beginnende Episode, die Mendelssohn nach einer schlaflosen Nacht beifügte, in der ihm der Ruf "Hüter, ist die Nacht bald hin?" keine Ruhe gelassen hatte. Zoltán Kodály (1882 - 1967) His Life • 1882: Born in Galanta, a village in what was then western Hungary (now part of Czech republic). • 1892: family moved to Nagyszombat, north-west part of Hungary where Kodaly became proficient at the piano, violin, and cello without any help from formal teachers. • 1898: wrote an overture for school orchestra which received good notice - "a dynamic talent"; went to Budapest where he enrolled at the University of Philosophy, Hungarian and German language and literature, and the Academy of Music; received his Diploma in Composition. • 1900-04: attended Eotvos College where he perfected his knowledge of English, French, and German; composed a lot of music. • 1905: received his teacher's diploma; became life-long friends of Bartok; went on tour to collect Hungarian folk music; received his PhD. with his dissertation on "The Stanzaic Structure of Hungarian Folk Song." • 1907: appointed as teacher at the Academy of Music; composed a lot. • 1910: Kodaly and Bartok put on joint concerts with young musicians, critics scorned it (now the dates of these concerts are celebrated as the birth of modern Hungarian music); married Emma Sandor, she was a gifted musician and translator approximately 20 years older than Kodaly. • 1917-19: worked as a music critic, wrote many articles and composed much music. • Aug 1919: old guard came back to power after the short-lived revolution and Kodaly was suspended from his position as Deputy Director of the National Academy of Music of Hungary; endured 12 hearings but eventually charges were dropped. • 1923: In honor of Budapest's celebration of its 50th anniversary Kodaly writes the Psalmus Hungaricus which laments the fate that has befallen his country, it was the first time he received unanimous praise from critics; began to write much music for children: The Straw Guy, See, the Gypsy Munching Cheese ; renowned for being a wonderful teacher. • 1924: continued work on Hary Janos, his masterpiece; became an enormous success. • 1927: continued writing children's choral works, went on folk music collecting trips, and wrote many articles on folk music; developed friendship with Toscanini. • 1932-36: wrote much music: Spinning Room, Dances of Galanta, Te Deum of Budavar; conducted, lectured, founded a school of Hungarian folk music at the Academy. • 1940: involved in many educational activities; developed a periodical devoted to the promotion of musical education of the young. • 1942: National Federation of Choral Societies proclaimed this year as "Kodaly year." • 1943: wrote Missa Brevis, dedicated to his wife; wrote many choral works. • 1945: received many honors, travelled, conducted, lectured, wrote articles. • 1958: his wife died. • 1959: married a 19 year old student. • 1960: received an honorary degree from Oxford; kept composing mostly choral works until his death. • 1967:died as a national treasure to the Hungarian people. • Principal compositions • Instrumental ◦ Orchestral works ◾ Summer Evening, 1906 ◾ Hary Janos Suite, 1927 ◾ Theatre Overture, 1927 ◾ Dances of Marosszek, 1930 ◾ Dances of Galanta, 1933 ◾ The Peacock, 1938-39 ◾ Concerto, 1939 ◾ Symphony, 1961 ◦ Chamber Music ◾ Adagio for Violin and Piano, 1905 ◾ Music for Piano (Op. 3), 1905-09 First String Quartet (Op. 2), 1908-09 Sonata for Cello and Piano (Op. 4), 1909-10 Duo for Violin and 'Cello (Op. 7), 1914 Sonata for 'Cello Solo, (Op. 8), 1915 Seven Piano Pieces (Op.11), 1910-18 Second String Quartet (Op. 10), 1916-18 Serenade for Two Violins and Viola (Op. 12), 1919-20 Dances of Marosszek (For piano), 1927 ◦ Stage Works ◾ Hary Janos (Op. 15), 1925-27 ◾ Spinning Room, Lyrical Scenes, with folk songs from Transylvania, 1924-32 • Vocal ◦ Vocal Works with Orchestral Accompaniment