64. Mendelssohn’s Universe

The lightness and clarity of Mendelssohn’s works – a composer of the early Romantic period – are strongly reminiscent of Mozart’s Classicism. A prime example of the fusion of elements typical of these two eras is the music he composed for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Fascination with the plays of the Elizabethan master was widespread in the 19th century, but dark tragedies were more commonly chosen. Mendelssohn, however, adored A Midsummer Night’s Dream – at the age of seventeen, he had already written the Overture summarizing the play. When, a dozen or so years later, he was commissioned to compose music for a stage production (in which he disapproved of the use of Spanish-style costumes and the division of acts that differed from the original), he already had the first part ready. The Scherzo depicts the quarrel between Oberon and Titania; the Nocturne portrays the nighttime forest, where the clever Puck enchants the sleeping characters with a magical powder; and the Wedding March depicts the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Composed two years later, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor was written for Ferdinand David, concertmaster of the Leipzig orchestra, and is much closer to the emotionality and virtuosity we associate with Romanticism. The composer also introduced several formal innovations in this work compared to classical models – such as the soloist’s earlier-than-usual entrance in the opening movement or the connection of the first and second sections (the so-called attacca) with a long bassoon note. In the finale, however, one hears the same lightness as in the music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Mendelssohn remained true to himself.

– Dominika Micał (pisanezesluchu.pl)