Table of Contents

GENEOLOGICAL TREE OF ITZIG AND MENDELSSOHN FAMILIES XV; MAP: PRINCIPAL SITES OF FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY'S TRAVELS XVIII; PREFACE XIX; PROLOGUE: PORCELAIN MONKEYS AND FAMILY IDENTITIES; PART I: PRECOCIOUS DEEDS; 1. In Nebel und Nacht:Hamburg to Berlin (1809-1819); 2. Apprenticed Prodigy (1820-1821); 3. The Second Mozart (1821-1822); 4. The Apprentice to Journeyman (1823-1824); 5. The Prodigy's Voice (1825-1826); 6. In the Public Eye (1827-1829); PART II: THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS; 7. Amateur Gentleman (1829); 8. Wanderlust (1830-1832); 9. Dusseldorf Beginnings (1832-1835); 10. The Apostle's Voice (1835-1837); PART III: ELIJAH'S CHARIOT; 11. Musical Biedermeier (1837-1839); 12. Leipzig vs. Berlin (1840-1841); 13. From Kapellmeister to Generalmusikdirektor (1841-1842); 14. Portrait of a Prussian Musician (1842-1843); 15. The Noon of Fame: Years of Triumph (1844-1846); 16. The Prophet's Voice: Elijah's Chariot (1846-1847)

About the Author

R. Larry Todd was hailed in The New York Times as "the dean of Mendelssohn scholars in the United States." A Professor of Musicology at Duke University, he has published widely on Mendelssohn and his time, and nineteenth-century music.

Reviews

A highly readable and authoritative account of a brief but remarkably creative life, and an important contribution to Mendelssohn studies. S Professor Todd is our most distinguished authority on Mendelssohn ... His new volume gives not only a remarkably full and detailed picture of Mendelssohn's career, but also a rich and satisfying account of the European culture in which he lived out his short life. Charles Rosen, Times Literary Supplement Mendelssohn is a splendid and deeply satisfactory achievement. Charles Rosen, Times Literary Supplement This monumental and magisterial biography is itself a celebration of the composer's life and achievement. His book Mendelssohn: A Life in Music will inspire all its readers to get to know the composer's music better. Such an exhaustive and definitive biography as Mr Todd's Mendelssohn will surely become a standard reference work for many years to come. Rufus Hallmark, Washington Times Daily (USA), 14/03/04 Professor Todd's imposing tome must surely be the last word on Felix Mendelssohn's life and music. It is a remarkable work of reserch and musical scholarship engagingly written and accessible even to a non-music specialist. Classic FM, The Magazine