it's kind of rare i side myself with saul. but this is actually one of those times!
i've always assumed mendelssohn as one of the greats--the circle of musical people i interacted with through the years had basically the same opinion, which is why i just grouped him with the "great composers" in my original post, without much thought. i'm not a musician by trade, so maybe there's a selection bias there.
i don't think i myself thought much of him--simply because as a pianist i don't come across his works often. his violin concerto is undoubtedly the iconic violin concerto, but his highly acclaimed piano concerto i kind of thought was so classical in harmony and style i wondered, why didn't he push the envelope?
when i picked up the viola a few months back, i discovered that he wrote a viola sonata at age 14. gorgeous music, even if, again, extremely classical. but it was work of a genius without doubt.
finally, the mendelssohn trio that my cellist friend said i simply have to learn because string players love it. to repeat my original post, upon first reading, i thought it's a giant exercise in broken chords, with relatively simple chord progressions. what's so special about it? yeah, it sounds great, sure, but, what else is there?
the next day, i looked at it again, and only then something clicked and i realized just how he comes up with ideas nobody else does, his seamless transitions and never ending thematic materials, and seemingly effortless compositional style.
so i'm learning his rondo capriccioso (thanks forum for bringing it to my attention) and all i can say is, wow, it's simply ingenious.
more and more, i realize, he is exactly what mozart would have been if mozart were born in the 19th century. and just a moment ago, i found out that schumann wrote a glowing review of his trio, indeed comparing him to mozart.
i haven't listened to too much of his music, but i'm gonna guess based on what i heard is that mendelssohn didn't transform himself and go far beyond the classical style. beethoven earned universal acclaim for his never-ending pursuit of new musical ideas and forms; i don't know if mendelssohn went much beyond relying on his innate abilities. in other words, i wonder if mendelssohn ever "advanced" music the same way the other greats did, or if his tried very hard to reinvent himself.
and that is a pretty big factor in determining "greatness", i would imagine, for a good portion of people. recapping what has happened the past century is good, but creating new things is better.
coupled with the relentless pursuit of new intellectual ideas in the 19th century, not just musically but scientifically and philosophical, and the emergence of anti-semitism later on, one can see how mendelssohn's music lost some of it vaunted status in people's minds.
but i think without these external factors, mendelssohn stands right there with the greatest.
Thank you for your fine points. I do agree with some of them.
But lets take this discussion a little further. I believe that the disagreement and argument here is not really about Mendelssohn or Wagner per say, but rather its an inverted look at the early masters and the later romantic and 'revolutionary' composers. An added point of contention also has to do with how much the factor of been a 'Child Prodigy' plays into determining greatness. So for the sake of been impartial here, I'll forget about Mendelssohn for a while and lets figure out who was a greater composer, Wagner or Mozart.
When it comes to musical genius Mozart had phenomenal musical abilities and gifts, from a very early age. His creative output was extremely prolific, and his music is very beautiful, dramatic and many at times moving. He was a virtuoso keyboard player, and had the almost perfect ability to sight-read a totally new piece of music unrehearsed with no mistakes, and also upon hearing a new melody instantly play it on the piano with no errors. He also could write entire scores of music, without using an instrument, straight from head to paper. His music is so pure and popular, that there is almost no place in the world that his music is not heard , or known. His music didn’t carry a German nationalistic message per say, his music rather has a universal appeal, written for all people, for humanity. He was a first rate melodist, and improviser, and his works portray, clarity, thought, order, and vividness. Composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn and Chopin, literally lionized him, and were greatly influenced by him, especially Mendelssohn.
Mozart was not a revolutionary composer, but who determined and made it a ‘musical commandment’ to be ‘revolutionary’? Who decided that the more ‘revolutionary’ composer you are , the greater composer you are?
Why there is a need to be ‘revolutionary’ in music? didn’t Bach teach us all that its perfectly possible to compose monumental and astonishingly beautiful and moving works by sticking to the ‘Old School Rules of composition’? Didn’t he demonstrate to us all, that been an anti-revolutionary is not an obstacles to greatness?
Its interesting to note, that Mahler towards the end of his life, fell in love with Bach’s music, and listened to it the most. How odd, that a composer so revolutionary would go back to Bach and find his greatest joy in his music…
So when it comes to simple clear cut Genius, Mozart wins the day at any day, easily, without any difficulties over Wagner.
The Funny thing in all of this is that the famous German conductor who knew Wagner very well and was a huge Mendelssohn fan and admirer disclosed what Wagner really thought of Mendelssohn privately to him. Here is the quote of Hans Von Bulow :
“Richard Wagner used to call Mendelssohn (in conversation at least) the greatest specifically musical genius the world has had since Mozartâ€â€¦I mean, if that’s not a clear affirmation of greatness and genius then what is? Without the slightest of doubt, Wagner knew and realized the immensity of Mendelssohn’s Genius and greatness, he even compared him to Mozart, and everyone knows that Mozart is way up there in the top five…
So its better that you’ll all take Wagner at his word, and trust him when he said (not in the greatest of enthusiasm I grant you that) that Mendelssohn was one of the greatest composers in human history, and since he compared him to Mozart, then you do the math and gather the correct conclusions.
Cheers,
Saul
) jumped on the bandwagon. Methinks the French take themselves far too seriously......
