The Life of Mendelssohn (Musical Lives)-Peter Mercer-Taylor

The Life of MendelssohnAuthor(s): Peter Mercer-Taylor\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521639729, 978-0521639729\nSynopsis\nFamous for a handful of compositions that continue to sparkle with originality, Mendelssohn, as conductor and scholar, was also one of the principal architects of the musical canon that has underpinned concert life to this day. Mendelssohn was one of music's greatest child prodigies. This book roots his early years firmly in the cultural and familial histories that shaped his childhood: the rise of his grandfather, Moses, from obscure poverty to international renown as a philosopher; his aunts' leading role in turn-of-the-century salon culture; his father's career as one of Berlin's most successful bankers. At the same time, this book confronts head-on the myth that Mendelssohn's was a happy, untroubled existence. The composer's last decade was marked by ceaseless psychol.