The Mendelssohn Project

During my years of work on The Mendelssohn Project I have often been struck by the immeasurable beauty of the music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Within his soaring melodies lies a complexity of emotion which is at times so deep that it belies the first reaction of some listeners. It is when one understands more about the man and listens closely to his music that one realizes fully the power and complexity of his understanding of the art of composition.

Why then has his music moved away from the forefront of the standard repertoire? The answer is not as complicated as one might suppose. As is well documented, soon after Mendelssohn's death, Richard Wagner, along with others, immediately discounted the music because of the deceased composer's Jewish birth. Feelings of anti-Semitism in Central Europe were very strong, and the citizens acquiesced to the wishes of the emerging leaders of the music community, gradually ceasing to perform the music of the one who had become more universally beloved in his lifetime than any other composer I can think of. The damage done to his name and his music by ill-wishing former contemporaries and by the acceptance of these new ideas by the public was deep enough that it never recovered. It has become my personal goal to see to it that the public be properly given the chance to experience the power and greatness of Mendelssohn's music; to understand it without apologies or misconceptions; to see it as it was meant to be; to hear it as it was performed before racism and political agendas degraded his name and music.

Although I do not want our work to have racism as a central theme, the fact cannot be ignored that without it, the name of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy would have been considered along with the other three or four greatest composers of his generation. While it is a fact that not many people today think about Mendelssohn having been born Jewish, when they think of his name what they perceive is the cumulative result of the persecution he suffered posthumously.

Virtually everyone has heard of Mendelssohn, but very few realize just how many works of his they know without actually knowing who composed them. The "Wedding March" from A Midsummer Night's Dream , and the "Italian" Symphony, are among many other works with melodies which are heard on a daily basis on radios, in churches and even on television commercials, among other venues. His music is everywhere. It is simply that people do not know who wrote these works. Combine this fact with the hundreds of works which have never been heard since his death in 1847 and with the authentic recording of all of his works, played in the style for which he wrote them, and there exists the core of a stunning revival. The rest of the facets of The Mendelssohn Project take care of building a monument around that solid core.

Over the many years of research and the work in making our company a reality, our team, our audiences, the musicians with whom we have worked, and every single individual who has been approached by us for advice, has been moved so very deeply by the conviction that this man, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, was one of the most fascinating, talented, and multi-faceted men who graced our planet in the 19th century. It is my firm belief that we should seize the opportunity to bring back to life the compelling splendor of this truly universal musician.