Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), with David Dubal April 15, 2009

Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
David Dubal, pianist, teacher, writer, and Broadcaster

The year 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Felix Mendelssohn, the greatest musical prodigy after Mozart. Mendelssohn’s life was perfect in all aspects, except for his early death at age thirty-eight. He came from a prominent family (his grandfather was the famous Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn) and had every possible advantage, intellectual and musical. Mendelssohn knew everyone from Goethe to Queen Victoria, and he was one of the great letter writers of his age. “The thoughts which are expressed to me by music that I love,” he once wrote, “are not too indefinite to be put into words, but on the contrary, too definite.” Mendelssohn’s music is the very springtime of Romanticism. In these two programs, the lecturer examines the composer’s fascinating life through his letters and invites young musicians from the Juilliard School to join him in sampling the everlasting youth that is Mendelssohn.

This week’s topic:

April 15
Excerpts from Songs without Words; Scherzo from Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Opus 49

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