Felix Mendelssohn, a life in letters

When Felix Mendelssohn's letters began to be published after his death, they were immediately recognized for their outstanding literary merit as well as the invaluable access they provide to the composer's life and thoughts. In their charm, humor and rich depiction of musical life in nineteenth century Europe they are unsurpassed. While notable English translations of selected Mendelssohn letters appears soon after the first German publications, Victorian custom necessitated the expurgation of much material deemed indiscreet, and often added an element of formality which robbed these letters of much of their freshness and vitality. The extraordinary letters contained in this volume, many of which have never before been published in English, span the composer's lifetime beginning when he was twelve years of age. They are filled with details about his musical life, evocative descriptions of his travels in Italy, Scotland, France and Germany, and of his many meetings with the musical, literary, and artistic luminaries of his age such as Giacomo Rossini and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Many of the letters to his family have come to light only recently and provide a particularly intimate and lively portrait of the composer. Accompanying these entertaining letters are some of his remarkable watercolors and drawings of the places he visited.