[1] At the period to which Mendelssohn here refers, owing to the advice of his friends, he had applied for the situation of Director of the Singing Academy, but was not chosen.

[2] “St. Paul.”

[3] From “Alexander’s Feast.”

[4] Mendelssohn’s sister had learned Greek along with him.

[5] The subject in question was Mendelssohn’s nomination (which afterwards ensued) as a member of the musical class of the Academy of Art in Berlin, as to the acceptance of which he had been doubtful.

[6] Immermann and Mendelssohn had agreed to give a certain number of performances in the theatre, which they termed “classical.” A certain portion of the public considered this to be arrogance on their part, and as the prices were also raised on the occasion, at the first performance the tumult ensued that Mendelssohn here describes.

[7] He never had recourse to it. Mendelssohn wrote invariably everything, without exception, himself.

[8] Music Director in Stockholm.

[9] This fantasia and the E flat rondo (with orchestra), Op. 29, are both dedicated to Moscheles.

[10] E flat (with orchestra), Op. 29.

[11] Well known as the most crowded street in London.

[12] “Ali Baba.”

[13] For the text of “St. Paul.”

[14] Cantor (leader of a choir), a term Mendelssohn often applied to his sister Fanny.

[15] A number of birthdays occurred at this particular period in the family.

[16] Mendelssohn had made an expedition through part of Germany for the benefit of the theatre, in order to engage singers.

[17] Professor Heyse, Mendelssohn’s teacher.

[18] The mode, however, in which Mendelssohn treated this affair of the theatre was by no means approved of by his father; on the contrary, some time afterwards he wrote to him as follows:—

“I must once more resume the subject of the dramatic career, as I feel very anxious about it on your account. You have not, according to my judgment, either in a productive or administrative point of view, had sufficient experience to decide with certainty that your disinclination towards it proceeds from anything innate in your talents or character. I know no dramatic composer, except Beethoven, who has not written a number of operas, now totally forgotten, before attaining the right object at the right moment, and gaining a place for himself. You have only made one public effort, which was partly frustrated by the text, and, in fact, was neither very successful nor the reverse. Subsequently you were too fastidious about the words, and did not succeed in finding the right man, and perhaps did not seek him in a right manner; I cannot but think that, by more diligent inquiries and more moderate pretensions, you would at length attain your object. With regard to the administrative career, however, it gives rise to another series of reflections which I wish to impress on you. Those who have the opportunity and the inclination, to become more closely and intimately acquainted with you, as well as all those to whom you have the opportunity and the inclination to reveal yourself more fully, cannot fail to love and respect you. But this is really far from being sufficient to enable a man to enter on life with active efficacy; on the contrary, when you advance in years, and opportunity and inclination fail, both in others and yourself, it is much more likely to lead to isolation and misanthropy. Even what we consider faults will be respected, or at least treated with forbearance, when once firmly and thoroughly established in the world, while the individual himself disappears. He has least of all arrived at the ideal of virtue, who exacts it most inexorably from others. The most stern moral principle is a citadel, with outworks, in defence of which we are unwilling to expend our strength, in order to maintain ourselves with greater certainty in our stronghold, which indeed ought only to be surrendered with life itself. Hitherto it is undeniable that you have never been able to divest yourself of a tendency to austerity and irascibility, to suddenly grasping an object, and as suddenly relinquishing it, and thus creating for yourself many obstacles in a practical point of view. For example, I must confess, that though I approved of your withdrawing from any active participation in the management of details in the DÜsseldorf theatre, I by no means did so of the manner in which you accomplished your object, as you undertook it voluntarily, and, to speak candidly, rather heedlessly. From the beginning you, most wisely, declined any positive compact, but only agreed to undertake the studying and conducting of particular operas, and, in accordance with this resolution, very properly insisted on another music director being appointed. When you came here some time ago with the commission to engage Krethi and Plethi, I did not at all like the idea; I thought, however, that as you were coming here at all events, you could not through politeness decline this service. But on your return to DÜsseldorf, after wisely refusing to undertake another journey for the purpose of making engagements for the theatre, instead of persevering in your duties in this sense, and getting rid of all odiosa, you allowed yourself to be overwhelmed by them; and as they naturally became most obnoxious to you, instead of quietly striving to remedy them, and thus gradually to get rid of them, you at one leap extricated yourself, and by so doing you undeniably subjected yourself to the imputation of fickleness and unsteadiness, and made a decided enemy of a man whom at all events policy should have taught you not to displease; and most probably offended and lost the friendliness of many members of the ComitÉ also, among whom there are, no doubt, most respectable people. If I view this matter incorrectly, then teach me a better mode of judging.”

This letter will show what an impartial and incorruptible judge Mendelssohn possessed in his father.

[19] The following letter from Mendelssohn’s Father will certainly not be read without interest, as it throws so clear a light on the intellectual relations between father and son; a place may therefore be appropriately found for it here. It has been selected from a large collection of letters of a similar tendency.

[20] By Reichardt. Compare the passage in reference to Reichardt in the letter of December 28th, 1833.

[21] “St. Paul.”

[22] Compare the passage on this subject in the letter of April 3rd, 1835.

[23] “Hommage À Handel.”

[24] The death of his Father.

[25] This refers to the circumstance of Mendelssohn’s father having advised him to “hang up on a nail” the elfin and spirit life with which, for a certain period, Mendelssohn had chiefly occupied himself in his compositions, and to proceed to graver works.

[26] He alludes to the Musical Festival, where “St. Paul” was performed for the first time.

[27] Verkenius.

[28] This Letter was written a short time before his betrothal.

[29] This project was never fulfilled, but the letter is inserted, as it proves the deep earnestness with which Mendelssohn treated such subjects.

[30] Mendelssohn’s marriage.

[31] “St. Paul” was performed for the first time in England at this Festival.

[32] A provincial mode of pronouncing ‘Birmingham.’

[33] See Letter of October 6th, 1835.

[34] It appeared afterwards under the title of “Serenade and Allegro Giojoso,” Op. 43.

[35] Hanover.

[36] A habit of Mendelssohn’s.

[37] Just before his Sister’s journey to Italy.

[38] ‘Earthly and Heavenly Love.’

[39] “Hommage À Handel.”

[40] This has been done. The monument is on the promenade, under the windows of Sebastian Bach’s rooms, in the Thomas School.

[41] It is characteristic of both, that Mendelssohn’s sister set the following poem of Goethe’s to music:—

[42] See the letter to Herr von Falkenstein, April 8th, 1840.

[43] By Sebastian Bach.

[44] His brother had gone to Leipzig, at the instigation of the Wirklich Geheimrath Herr von Massow, to negotiate with Mendelssohn the subject of a situation in Berlin. It was proposed to divide the Academy of Arts into four classes,—namely, painting, sculpture, architecture, and music,—and to appoint a director for each class, to whom the superintendence of the Academy should be entrusted alternately, and in fixed succession. The music class, for which Mendelssohn had been selected as Director, was to consist essentially of a large Conservatorium, in the expectation that in connection with the resources of the Royal Theatre, public concerts, partly of a sacred and partly of a secular nature, should be given. However promising Mendelssohn considered this project, he at once expressed considerable doubts, not so much that the plan could not be carried out, but that it would not be so; and the result proved how correct his judgment was on the point.

[45] The performance of “Athalie,” with Schulz’s music, had caused considerable excitement in the Berlin Theatre.

[46] The ‘Vier Fragen’ of Jacobi, a pamphlet of the day, the purport and contents of which, would certainly no longer cause the smallest annoyance to either party.

[47] At the time of the appearance of the ‘Vier Fragen,’ Minister SchÖn was unquestionably supposed by the public to be the author.

[48] An unpublished composition of Mendelssohn’s.

[49] In this Report, the result of the negotiations with Mendelssohn, which finally caused him to go to Berlin, are fully detailed,—so it was considered necessary to give it a place here.

[50] Massow’s proposals were finally accepted by Mendelssohn, who came to Berlin; there were many conferences held as to the remodelling of the musical class in the Academy, and the organization of the future Conservatorium; but as Mendelssohn very justly foresaw, all this evaporated, though from no fault of his, which the beginning of Minister Eichhorn’s letter of the 2nd March, 1815, fully proves.

[51] The death of President Verkenius ended the correspondence by this Letter.

[52] In answer to the Professor’s offer to write, or to cause to be written, something in his musical paper with regard to ‘Antigone.’

[53] Compare also his letter to Julius Stern of the 27th of May, 1814.

[54] Mendelssohn and his wife.

[55] The party consisted of Mendelssohn and his Brother, and their wives.

[56] See Mendelssohn’s Letters in 1831.

[57] Herr Souchay had asked Mendelssohn the meanings of some of his “Songs without Words.”

[58] Goethe also says, in the fourth part of ‘Dichtung und Wahrheit,’ “I have already but too plainly seen, that no one person understands another; that no one receives the same impression as another from the very same words.”

[59] The following Letter contains the result of the audience requested.

[60] See Letter to his Mother of the 3rd of September, 1842.

[61] See Letter to the King of the 28th of October, 1842.

[62] See Letter of 10th August, 1840.

[63] The birthday of Mendelssohn’s Father.

[64] After the death of his Mother.

[65] From his own Psalm, op. 42.

[66] Gade dedicated his C minor symphony to Mendelssohn.

[67] This conference was held in order to hasten the performance of the plans of the King. See the letters of 28th October, 1842, and 5th December, 1842.

[68] Neither of these works, however, had yet been performed.

[69] The execution of this project also, nevertheless was not completed and Mendelssohn, after some time had elapsed, requested the King to relieve him from all public duties, and to be permitted to remain only in an artistic and personal relation to his Majesty, to which the King was graciously pleased to accede.

[70] Mendelssohn’s request was graciously granted by the King.

[71] The letter of Herr von Bunsen to Mendelssohn is inserted here, in order to render the following reply intelligible.

[72] Herr Stern had accomplished the production of “Antigone,” in the OdÉon Theatre, in Paris.

[73] See also the Letter to Dehn, of the 28th of October, 1841.

[74] Mendelssohn’s servant.

[75] Mendelssohn was desired by the Berlin Theatre Intendancy to compose this overture as quickly as possible (which he consequently did in a few days), because “Athalia” was to be performed immediately. The performance, however, did not take place till the 1st of December, 1845.

[76] To direct the musical festival there.

[77] The son of his sister Fanny.

[78] Mendelssohn’s paternal home, in which the Boeckh family also resided.

[79] Inserted in order to make Mendelssohn’s reply more clear.

[80] This communication also led to no results.

[81] Here also this letter to Mendelssohn seems necessary to render his reply intelligible.

[82] See the Letter to Bunsen of May 1st, 1844.

[83] Referring to his edition of “Israel in Egypt,” for this Society.

[84] Franz Messer, at Frankfort-on-the-Main.

[85] For the Musical Festival in Birmingham, where “Elijah” was performed for the first time.

[86] In relation to a couple of members of the orchestra, who took the liberty to make some saucy remarks on Mendelssohn coming in rather late one morning to direct a rehearsal at the Philharmonic.

[87] Moscheles recovered sufficiently to direct the rest of the performances at the festival, except “Elijah.”

[88] Mendelssohn’s servant.

[89] Dirichlet was engaged in a negotiation about a situation at Heidelberg.

[90] See letter about Reichardt, of December 28, 1833.

[91] After Fanny Hensel’s death.

[92] Mendelssohn and his brother, with their families, went together to Switzerland after Fanny Hensel’s death.

[93] The author of the ‘History of Greece.’

[94] To allow the “Elijah” to be performed for the benefit of that institution.

[95] Mendelssohn was to direct the “Elijah” in Vienna.

[96] In the tenth edition of Brockhaus’s ‘Conversations-Lexicon,’ vol. vii., 1852, we read, “She felt great repugnance to publish, so that her brother often, in jest, allowed her compositions to appear under his name.”

[97] The name of the place invariably indicates where the Work was composed, or at all events finished.