TIMELINE – FELIX MENDELSSOHN

 

Compositions by Felix Mendelssohn listed below, as well as in this entire website, are given without any opus numbers. As explained more fully in xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, the assigned opus numbers 1-72 (and 73 -122 for works published posthumously within the half century following his death) simply illustrate the chronological order of publication for the relatively small percentage of his works which were actually published, and do not have any bearing on the actual chronology of his compositions.

Within this document, there are numerous mentions of composition completion dates for work of Mendelssohn. To some, it might appear random why some appear, and most others do not. The works below are listed here owing to the fact that their completion dates relate in some way to the larger-picture of his life represented here in this Timeline. For a complete list of Mendelssohn’s compositions, please visit XXXXXXXXX

All cities below refer to Germany, unless otherwise noted

 

1809

February 3:

Born in Hamburg

 

1811

End-June

Mendelssohn family moves from Hamburg to Berlin to escape a blockade imposed by Napoleon

 

1816

Ca. February:	Begins studying music (initially with his mother, Lea)
March 21:	Baptized by his family into the Lutheran faith, in Berlin
Early-April:	Travels to Frankfurt with his father, Abraham, and his sister, Fanny; they then continue on to Weimar
April 10:	Meets Goethe for the first time, in Weimar
Mid-to-late-April:	Travels to Paris, with his father, and sister, Fanny
Late Spring-Autumn	Studies music in Paris with Marie Bigot and Pierre Baillot
Ca. Oct or Nov	Travels to Berlin, with his father, and sister, Fanny

 

1817

Early-April	Begins taking music lessons with Ludwig Berge
April	Travels to Frankfurt, with his father, and then to Paris
Ca. April/May	Resumes music study with Bigot and Baillot
July	Travels to Berlin, with his father
August	Travels to Weimar, with his father (does not meet with Goethe), and then returns to Berlin
Autumn	Begins piano study with Franz Lauska

 

1818

October 28	Performs in public for the first time, playing piano in a work for two horns and piano
Ca. November	Performs as soloist for the first time, playing the Concert militaire, by J.L. Dussek

 

1819

Ca. January–February	Begins music study with Karl Friedrich Zelter
Ca. May	Begins teaching himself to play the violin
Ca. October	Completes his first surviving composition, Sonata in D Major for Two Pianos
December 11	Completes his second surviving composition, Lied zum Geburtstag meines guten Vaters [Song for the Birthday of my Good Father]

 

1820

May	Completes his 12 Fugues for String Quartet
Autumn	Begins taking drawing lessons, with Samuel Rösel
October 1	Becomes a member of the Berlin Sing- Akadamie (along with sister, Fanny)
November 30	Completes his operetta Die Soldatenliebschaft

 

1821

March 14	Complete his operetta Die beiden Pädagogen
Late-summer	Complete his String Symphony No. 1 ibn C Major (the first of a series of 12 string symphonies he would write between 1821 & Sep. 1823)
Early-Nov	Travels to Weimar (accompanied by Zelter), and meets Goethe (and lives in Goethe’s house for 2 weeks)
Late November	Travels to Berlin
November 30	Completes his operetta Die wandernden Komödianten (The Traveling Comedians)

 

1822

July 6	Mendelssohn family departs Berlin for 3-month vacation in Switzerland (primarily Vevay & Interlaken) (including stops in Potsdam and Frankfurt on the way south)
October 4	In Frankfurt, on the family’s return to Berlin, Mendelssohn’s parents convert to Protestantism and adopt the family name of ‘Bartholdy’
October 7	On family’s return to Berlin, they stop in Weimar and meet with Goethe
October 18	Completes his Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor

 

1823

Early 1823	Completes his comic opera Der Onkel aus Boston (The Uncle from Boston)
March 30	Completes his String Quartet in E-flat Major
May	Completes his Violin Concerto in D Minor
October 17	Completes his Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E Major
November 12	Completes his Kyrie in C Minor
Autumn	Completes his Piano Quartet No. 2 in F Minor
December	Receives Christmas present from his Jewish grandmother, Bella Salomon – a manuscript of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion

 

1824

February 14	Completes his Sonata for Viola and Piano in C Minor
March 9	His maternal grandmother, Bella Salomon, dies
March	Completes his Symphony No. 1 in C Minor
July	Travels to Bad Doberan (with his father, Abraham), and then returns to Berlin
November 12	Completes his Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra in A-Flat Major
November 22	Begins piano study with Ignaz Moscheles

 

1825

January 18	Completes his Piano Quartet No. 3 in B Minor
March	Travels to Paris with his father, via Frankfurt
May	Travels to Frankfurt with his father, and then to Weimar
Summer	Family moves into mansion at Leipzigerstrasse 3 in Berlin
July 23	Completes his Capriccio in F# Minor for Piano
August	Completes the first version of his opera, Die Hochzeit des Camacho (The Marriage of Camacho)
October 15	Completes the first version of his Octet for Strings in E-flat Major
December	Confirmed into the Lutheran faith

 

1826

August 6	Completes the first version of his Overture to Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
December 5	Completes his Te Deum in D Major

 

1827

February 20	World premiere performance of his Overture to Shakespeare’s ”A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1st Version), in Stettin
April	Passes entrance examination to the University of Berlin
April 29	World premiere performance of his opera Die Hochzeit des Camacho (The Marriage of Camacho) (1st Version), Schauspielhaus, Berlin
May 31	Completes his Piano Sonata in Bb Major
August – October	Travels with friends to the Harz Mountains, and then through Franconia and Bavaria, to Stuttgart (arr. Sep. 8), Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Horchheim and Cologne
Mid-October:	Travels back to Berlin
October 27	Completes his String Quartet in A Minor (1st version)

 

1828

April	Completes his large-scale cantata Grosse Festmusik zum Dürerfest (Large Festival Musik for the Dürer Festival)
June 8	Completes the first version of his overture, Meerestille und glückliche Fahrt (Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage)
September 12	Completes his Humboldt Cantata
October	Travels to Brandenburg on the Havel River, and then returns to Berlin
December 6	Completes his 16-part a cappella Hora est

 

1829

March 11	Conducts the first revival of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Berlin Sing-Akademie, in a heavily cut version
April 10	Travels to Hamburg (with his father, and sister, Rebekka)
April 18	Travels to London (arr. April 20)
June 24	Conducts the England premiere of his Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture, and conducts and plays the solo piano in the England premiere of the Beeethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor Concerto”)
Mid-July	Travels to Scotland (with Karl Klingemann) (arrives July 26); when in Edenborough
August 1	Travels to the Scottish Highlands (with Karl Klingemann), and visits Fingal’s Cave on Staffa on Aug. 8
Mid-August	Travels to Liverpool
Late-August	Travels to northern Wales
Early September	Travels to London (arrives ca. Sept. 6)
September	Completes his String Quartet in E-flat Major ​
October 3	Due to a serious leg injury suffered in late-September, remains in England as his sister, Fanny (b. 1805), marries Wilhelm Hensel (b. 1794) in Berlin
End November	Departs London to travel to Berlin (via Calais)
December 7	Arrives back in Berlin
December 19	Completes his operetta, Heimkehr aus der Fremde (Returning Home from a Foreign Land) (world premiere given on December 25)

 

1830

May 12	Completes his Symphony in D Major (1st Version) (to be later titled Symphony No. 5 in D Major (“Reformation”)
May 13	Departs on a 2-year “Bildungsreise” (“Educational Journey”), and travels with his father to Leipzig, Weimar (meets with Goethe), and Munich
Early June	While in Munich, begins work on a symphony in a-minor (to be later titled Symphony No. 3 “Scottish”)
June 16	His nephew, Sebastian Hensel, is born in Berlin
End July	Travels to the Bavarian Alps
Early August	Travels to Salzburg (arr. Aug. 7), then to Linz, and to Vienna
October	Completes his String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Major
October	Travels to Venice and Florence (arr. Oct. 22)
End October	Travels to Rome (arr. Nov. 1)
November 15	Complete his Psalm 115 for Chorus and Orchestra, in Rome

 

1831

April 10-12	Departs Rome & travels to Naples
Late May	Travels to Rome
June 18	Departs Rome & travels to Florence
Late June – July	Travels to Genoa, and then to Milan
Late July	Travels to the Borromean Islands, and then on to Geneva, Switzerland (arr. Aug. 1)
August	Travels to Interlaken (arr. ca. Aug. 10), and then on to Engelberg
End-August	Travels to Rigi, climbs the Rigi, and continues to Appenzell and St. Gallen
Early September	Travels to Munich
September	Completes his Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor
September 18	Completes his Capriccio Brillant for Piano in B minor
October 17	Conducts a concert in Munich, including his Symphony in C Minor, Overture to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, and the world premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor
November	Travels to Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Bonn, and Düsseldorf (arr. end-Nov.)
Early December	Travels to Paris (arr. ca. Dec. 9)

 

 

1832

Early 1832	Completes the first version of his secular cantata Die erste Walpurgisnacht (The First Walpurgis Night)
Late March	Learns news of death of Goethe (d. March 22, Weimar)
April	Travels via Calais to London (arr. Apr. 22)
May 18	Completes the orchestration of his Capriccio Brillant for Piano and Orchestra in B Minor
May	Remains in London as his sister, Rebecka (b. 1811) marries Peter Lejeune Dirichlet (b. 1805) in Berlin
Late May	Learns of news of death of Zelter (d. May 15, Berlin)
May	Completes final version of his Concert Overture No. 2 (later to be named: Fingal’s Cave Overture)
End June 22	Departs London to travel back to Berlin
July 20	Completes a cycle of 6 Leider ohne Worte (later to be published as Op. 19b)

 

 

1833

January 10	Conducts the world premiere of the 1st version of The First Walpurgis Night (Die erste Walpurgisnacht), at the Berlin Sing-Akademie
January 22	Passed over for the position of music director of the Berlin Sing-Akademie (the position is given to Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen)
May 13	Completes the first version of his Symphony in A-Major (1st Version) (this first version would become known after his death as his Symphony No. 4 “Italian”)
Mid-April	Travels to Düsseldorf (arr. Apr. 17)
Late-April:	Travels to Rotterdam, and then to London (arr. Apr. 25)
May 18	Departs London and travels to Düsseldorf
Late May	In Düsseldorf accepts 3-year position to become the city’s Municipal music director (to begin on Oct. 1 1833) along with music directorship of the Lower Rhine Music Festival
Early June	Travels to London with his father (arr. June 5)
July 2	Birth of his grandson, Walter Dirichlet (son of Rebekka)
August 25	Departs London and travels to Düsseldorf (via Rotterdam)
September 11	Travels to Berlin (arr. Sep. 13)
Mid-September	Travels to Leipzig
End-September	Travels to Düsseldorf to begin his tenure as the city’s music director
Early-October	Travels briefly to Bonn and Cologne, and then returns to Düsseldorf
December 19	Conducts his first full-length opera, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, after insisting on more than 20 rehearsals.

 

 

1834

May	Travels to Aachen to attend the Lower Rhine Music Festival (and meets Chopin on May 18); he then returns to Düsseldorf
Summer	Begins work on an oratorio, to be called Paulus (St. Paul)
August	Travels to Berlin
September 30	Travels to Leipzig
October	Meets the fifteen-year-old Clara Wieck (the future Clara Schumann);
Early October	Travels to Kassel, and then returns to Düsseldorf (arr prior to Oct. 9)November 10: Takes a leave of absence from his positions in the city of Düsseldorf
November 15	Completes the second and final version of his Meerestille und glückliche Fahrt (Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage)

 

 

1835

Early January	Receives and rejects an offer to become professor at Leipzig University
Mid January	Receives an offer to become music director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus concerts as well as its choral society
Late January	Receives an offer to become music director of the Munich Opera (he later rejects the offer)
Early February	Receives and rejects an offer to become editor-in-chief of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung in Leipzig
May 1	Resigns from his positons in the city of Düsseldorf & the Lower Rhine Music Festival
May 27	Remains in Düsseldorf as his brother, Paul (b. 1812) marries Albertine Heine (b. 1814) in Berlin
June 7-8	Conducts two final concerts at the Lower Rhine Music Festival
June 13	Accepts the offer to become music director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus concerts as well as its choral society
June	Travels to Dusseldorf
End-July	Travels to Berlin
July 25	Completes his Psalm 115 in Eb Major (prepared in 3 languages: German, Latin, and English)
End August	Travels to Leipzig (arr. Aug 30)
Early-September	Moves into an apartment in the Reichelsgarten section of Berlin
October 4	Conducts his first concert at the Leipzig Gewandhaus
October 13	Travels to Berlin, and then returns to Leipzig to conduct his next concert (on Oct. 22)
November 19	His father dies, in Berlin; on the same day, Wilhelm Hensel travels to Berlin to inform Felix
November 20	Travels to Berlin; attends his father’s funeral (Nov. 23)
Late November	Travels to Leipzig
Late November	Begins his most intense and concentrated work on his oratorio, St. Paul

 

 

1836

February 29	Completes the second, and final, version of his overture, Die Schöne Melusine (The Fair Melusine)
March 20	Receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Leipzig
April	Completes the first version of his oratorio, St. Paul
April	Receives a copy of Richard Wagner’s Symphony in C Minor, sent by the composer as a gift (it is presumed that Felix destroyed the manuscript)
May 1	Travels to Frankfurt (arr. May 4)
May 4	Meets Cécile Jeanrenaud
May 6	Travels to Dusseldorf (arr May 8), with stops in Mainz and Cologne
May 22	Conducts the world premiere of the 1st version of his oratorio, St. Paul, at the Lower Rhine Music Festival
May 23	Conducts the Beethoven Symphony No. 9 at the Lower Rhine Music Festival
May 24	Conducts a 3rd concert at the Lower Rhine Music Festival, including two Beethoven overtures, and selections from his Paulus
June 4	Travels to Frankfurt (arr. June 7)
Summer	Remains in Frankfurt, with short trips to Cologne and Coblenz
September 9	Proposes to Cécile Jeanrenaud; she accepts, and they are engaged
End September 19	Travels to Leipzig
December 12	Conducts his final concert of the year in Leipzig
December 13	Travels to Frankfurt
End December	Travels to Leipzig

 

 

1837

March 9	Performs Bach’s Piano Concerto in D Minor, marking the first time he appears in Leipzig as an instrumental soloist
March	Completes the second, and final, version of his oratorio, Paulus
March 19 (Palm Sunday)	Travels to Frankfurt
March 28	Marries Cécile Jeanrenaud in Frankfurt (none of his immediate family members attend)
April – Early-May	Travels with his wife on their honeymoon on the Upper Rhine; during this trip he works on numerous compositions, including his Psalm 42, String Quartet in E Minor, String Quartet in E-flat Major, and several organ preludes
May 13	He and his wife arrive back in Frankfurt
Early July	Travels with his wife for vacation in Bingen (arr. July 5)
July 11	Completes his Capriccio for Piano in E Minor
Early August	Travels with his wife to Coblenz, Horchheim
August 5	Completes his Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor in Horchheim
August 16	Travels with his wife, via steam boat , to Bonn, then on to Cologne (Aug. 17), then continues to Düsseldorf
August 24	Travels via steam boat to Nijegen , Netherlands, and then continues to Rotterdam
August 26	Travels to London
August 30-31	Begins to sketch the first draft of a libretto for a work which would later become Elijah
Mid-September	Travels to Birmingham, England & participates in the Birmingham Music Festival
September 22	Travels to London
September 23	Departs London and travels to Frankfurt via Bologne, Brussels, Liège, Cologne, Horchheim (arr. Frankfurt Sep. 27)
September 28	Travels with his wife to Leipzig (arr. Oct. 1)
October 1	With his wife, moves into an apartment in the Lurgensteins Garten section of Leipzig

 

1838

February 7	His first child is born, Karl Wolfgang Paul Mendelssohn
Early-April	Travels with his wife and son to Berlin
Late May	Travels to Cologne (arr. May 25)
Early-June	Travels to Berlin (arr. June 10)
June 15:	Completes his Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major
July 24	Completes his String Quartet in D Major
Mid-August	Travels with his wife and son to Leipzig (arr. Aug. 20)
Late August	Contracts measles, along with his wife
December 22	Completes his Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in B-Flat Major

 

1839

February 25	Completes his String Quartet No 3 in D Major, String Quartet No. 4 in E Minor and String Quartet No. 5 in E-Flat Major
March 8	Completes his Overture to Victor Hugo’s ‘Ruy Blas’
March 22	Conducts the belated world premiere of Schubert’s Symphony in C Major (later to be known as ‘The Great’)
April 24	Travels to Frankfurt with his wife and son
Early May	Travels to Düsseldorf (arr, May 11)
May	Conducts concerts at the Lower Rhine Music Festival, including Handel’s Der Messias (Messiah)
Late May	Travels to Frankfurt
July 18	Completes the first version of his Trio No. 1 in D Minor for Violin, Cello, and Piano
July 19	Travels with his wife and son to Horchheim
Early August	Learns of the death of his ‘favorite’ aunt, Lea’s sister, the novelist, Dorothea von Schlegel (d. Aug. 3, Frankfurt)
Early August	Completes the first version of his Psalm 114, for double chorus and orchestra
Mid August	Travels with his wife and son to Frankfurt, and then to Leipzig (arr. Aug. 20)
Late August	Hosts Wilhem , Fanny, and Sebastian Hensel
End August	Travels to Braunschweig to conduct the Braunschweig Music Festival
September 9 or 10	Travels to Leipzig
October 2	His second child is born, Marie Helene Pauline Mendelssohn

 

1840

March 23	Is one of the piano soloists for Bach’s Concerto for 3 Pianos; the other two soloists are Franz Liszt and Ferdinand Hiller
Mid-April	Travels to Berlin with his wife and 2 children
Mid-May	Travels to Weimar (his family returned to Leipzig)
May 26	Conducts a performance of Paulus (St. Paul)
End May	Travels to Leipzig
End June	Participates in a 3-day Guttenberg Festival in Leipzig, including conducting the world premieres of the first version of his Symphony in Bb Major (‘Lobgesang’) (later to be known as his Symphony No. 2), and his Festgesang, (or Guttenberg Cantata); the latter work includes a movement, which would (in the 1850s) have new words set to it to become Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Beg. July	Travels to Mecklenburg to conduct the Second North German Musical Festival, including conducing a performance of his Paulus
Mid-July	Travels to Berlin, and then continuing to Leipzig (arr. July 17)
August	Travels to Dresden with his wife, gets very ill, and returns to Leipzig (speculation suggests that he might have suffered a small stroke)
September 6-11	Hosts Wilhem , Fanny, and Sebastian Hensel
September 11	Travels to London via Calais (arr. ca. Sep. 17)
Ca. Sep. 18	Travels to Birmingham
September 22-25	Conducts concerts in Birmingham, including his Symphony in Bb Major, and his Piano Concerto in G Minor ( conducting from the piano)
September 26	Travels to London
Early October	Travels to Leipzig, via Aix-la-Chapelle (arr. Leipzig Oct. 9
November 11	Meets Hans Christian Anderson
Late November	Receives a letter informing him that Prussian King Friedrich Wilhem IV wishes for him to relocate to Berlin to become the city’s chief music directr
November 27	Completes the second version of his Symphony in Bb Major (‘Lobgesang’)
December 11	Receives a second letter from King Friedrich Wilhem IV with a detailed financial proposal regarding the King’s wish for Mendelssohn to move to Berlin.
December 16	Meets Saxon King Frederick Augustus II after a concert in Leipzig

 

 

1841

January 18	His third child is born, Paul Felix Abraham Mendelssohn
March 31	Conducts the world premiere of Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, Op. 38 (‘Spring’)
April 4 (Palm Sunday)	Conducts a performance of Bach’s St. Mathew Passion at the Thomaskirche, restoring some of the cut material from his 1829 performance
Mid-April	Travels to Weimar, and conducts a performance of his Paulus (concert: Apr. 15), and then travels back to Leipzig
Ca. Late-April	Travels to Dresden, and then back to Leipzig
Early-May	Travels to Berlin (arr. May 5)
May	Continues negotiations for a post in Berlin
May 25	Travels to Leipzig
June 4	Completes the second, and final, version of his Variations Sérieuses in D Minor
Early June:	Accepts a post in Berlin to become, in effect, the city’s music director (his various specific titles are still in flux, and would shift over time – currently, his title would be Royal Saxon Kappelmeister); he also announces his resignation from his position in Leipzig
End-July	Travels with his family to Berlin
October 10	Completes his Music to Sophocles’ ‘Antigone’
October 13	Named Royal Prussian Kappelmeister in Berlin
Mid-October	Moves with his family into an apartment in the Leipzigerstrasse 112 in Berlin
October 28	Conducts the world premiere of his ‘Antigone’ at the New Palace in Potsdam, with King Friedrich Wilhem IV in attendance; the two meet for the first time following the concert
Mid-November	Travels to Leipzig with his wife (arr. Nov. 12)
November	Conducts three concerts in Leipzig (Nov. 13, 22 & 25)
November 29	Travels with his wife to Berlin

 

 

1842

January 10	Conducts a performance of his Paulus in Berlin
Jan. 20	Completes his Symphony in A Minor (“Scottish”) (later to become his Symphony No. 3)
February 15	Travels by train to Leipzig (note: as of this trip, most of Mendelssohn’s longer land journeys were traveled by train, which had just become established within Germany)
March 3	Conducts the world premiere of his Symphony in A Minor (“Scottish”) in Leipzig
March 5	Conducts the Leipzig premiere of his ‘Antigone’
Early March	Travels to Berlin
End-March	Meets Richard Wagner
Early May	Travels with his family to Leipzig, and then to Frankfurt; He then travels alone to Düsseldorf to conduct the Lower Rhine Music Festival
Mid-May	Travels to Bonn to give a concert (May 21) for a relief fund for the disastrous fire which destroyed large parts of his birth-city, Hamburg (fire: May 6-8); he then travels to Cologne to give another relief fund concert (May 22)
Late May	Travels to Bonn, and re-joins his wife
End May	Travels with his wife to London (English Channel crossing: May 29)
May 31	Prussian King Friedrich Wilhem IV announces he is bestowing on Mendelssohn a brand new distinguished honor: Ordre pour le mérite (along with 29 other men)
June 14	Meets Prince Albert
June 15	Meets Queen Victoria, along with Prince Albert
July 9	2nd meeting with Queen Victoria, along with Prince Albert
Mid-July	Travels with his wife to Frankfurt
End July	Travels with his wife for vacation in Switzerland, to visit many areas and cities
Mid-August	Travels alone from Altdorf, Switzerland, through the Surenen Pass, to Engelberg
End August	Travels to Lucerne, Switzerland, and meets up with his wife and children
Early September	Travels with his family to Frankfurt (via Zurich, Basel and Mainz)
End September	Travels with his family to Leipzig (arr. Sep. 26)
October 2	Conducts the Leipzig Gewandhaus season premiere concert
Early-October	Travels with his family to Berlin (arr. Oct. 5)
October 10	Meets with King Friedrich Wilhem IV to ask to be relieved of his Berlin post; the King rejects the request, but granted Mendelssohn more freedom to travel during the concert seasons
October 26	Meets with King Friedrich Wilhem IV to announce his decision to resign from his Berlin posts; the King countered by offering to re-work Mendelssohn’s position in Berlin by founding a new court chapel for Mendelssohn, to comprise the city’s best musicians, and to perform music on Sundays, and on other special occasions; secondly, he was to be given the title of Prussian General Music Director, and thirdly, until the new organization was put together, the King informed Mendelssohn that he was completely free to travel
Beg. November	Agrees to compose incidental music to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Early November	Travels to Leipzig (arr. Nov. 8)
Mid-November – Mid-December	Conducts eight concerts in Leipzig
Mid-November	Travels to Dresden to meet with Saxon King Frederick Augustus II; the King offers Felix and appointment as Leipzig Kappelmeister; he rejects the appointment, but asks instead that the King consider the founding of a music conservatory in Leipzig; one week later, the King grants the request. Travels back to Leipzig
December 12	His mother, Lea, dies in Berlin (after suffering a stroke on Dec. 11)
December 13	Travels to Berlin and receiving a letter from his brother, Paul, sent prior to Lea’s death, which stated that she is was in grave condition
Mid-December	Travels to Leipzig to conduct the last subscription concert of the calendar year (Dec. 21), with King Frederick Augustus II in attendance
Late-December	Travels to Berlin

 

 

1843

Ca. Mid-January	Travels to Leipzig
January 28	Meets Hector Berlioz
February 2	World premiere of the final version of The First Walpurgis Night (Die erste Walpurgisnacht), at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig
Late-February	Hosts his sisters Fanny and Rebekka in Leipzig
April 3	Opens the Leipzig Conservatory, which he founded
Early April	Travels to Dresden to conduct a Palm Sunday performance of his oratorio, Paulus (Apr. 9)
Ca. April 10	Travels to Leipzig
April 13	Made honorary citizen of the city of Leipzig
April 23	Unveiling of the Bach monument at the Thomas Gate in Leipzig, which he partially funded
May 1	His fourth child is born, Felix August Eduard Mendelssohn (1943-1851)
May 15	Meets Charles Gounod
May 25	Travels to Berlin
June – September	Travels frequently between Berlin and Leipzig
July	Completes his Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in D Major
Ca. September	Completes his Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
October 1	Meets Niels Gade in Leipzig
Early October	Travels to Berlin
October 14	Conducts a private performance of his Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ performed for King Friedrich Wilhelm IV in the Neues Palais in Potsdam
Late-October	Travels to Leipzig
October 30	Participates in a Gewandhaud concert, which includes Bach’s Concerto for 3 Pianos and Orchestra, playing piano along with Ferdinand Hiller and Clara Schumann
November 25	Travels with his family to Berlin
Early-December	Makes his first appearance with his new liturgical ensemble as Director of Sacred Music at the Berlin Cathedral

 

 

1844

February 22	Travels to Leipzig for ca. 3 days, and returns to Berlin
Mid-April	Travels with his family to Leipzig
End-April	Travels with his family to Frankfurt
Early-May	Travels to London (arr. May 8)
May 13 – July 8	Conducts five concerts with the Philharmonic of London
May – July	Meets several times with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
June 16	Meets and has dinner with Charles Dickens
Mid-July	Travels to Bad Soden (near Frankfurt) to join his family (arr. July 13)
End-July	Travels to Zweibrücken to conduct his oratorio, Paulus, and Die erste Walpurgisnacht
Begin-August	Travels to Bad Soden
September 16	Completes the 1st version of his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E Minor
September 25	Travels to Berlin, via Leipzig and Dresden (arr. Berlin Sep. 30)
Early-October	Meets with King Friedrich Wilhem IV with the intention of resigning; the two men compromised agreeing that Mendelssohn is no longer obligated to live in Berlin, would accept a salary decrease, and would accept some royal composition commissions
October 21	Meets the famous soprano, Jenny Lind
November 24	Travels to Leipzig
November 30	Travels with his family to Bad Soden
Early-December	Travels to Dresden to perform at a concert on Dec. 4
December 5	Travels to Leipzig
Early-December	Travels to Bad Soden

 

 

1845

Ca. January	Begins work on a symphony in c major (only fragments remain of this uncompleted work)
February 25	Completes his Oedipus in Colonus (commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV)
April	Completes most of his Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Minor (the work would be finalized for publication in early 1846)
Mid-July	Travels with his family to Freiburg im Breisgau for a reunion with his three siblings and their families. They then travel down the Rhine to Bad Soden
Mid-August	Travels with his family to Leipzig (arr. Aug. 13)
Late-August	Travels to Dresden to negotiate and finalize a contract with Prussian King Frederick Augustus II (signed Sep. 18); his service would begin on October 1; he then travels back to Leipzig at the end of August
September 4	Moves with his family into a new apartment at Königstrasse 3
September 6	Travels to Berlin
September 15	Travels to Leipzig
September 19	His fifth child is born, Fanny Henriette Elizabeth Mendelssohn (‘Lili’), in Leipzig
Late-September	Travels to Dresden, then back to Leipzig
October 5	Conducts the season-opening concert of the Gewandhaus in Leipzig
Late-October	Travels to Berlin (arr. Oct. 24)
November 1	Conducts the private world premiere of his Incidental Music to ‘Oedipus’, in a stage performance of the play at the New palace in Potsdam, with King Friedrich Wilhelm IV in attendance. (the 1st public performance was given on Nov. 10)
November 12	Completes his Incidental Music to Racine’s ‘Athalie’, in Berlin
Mid-November – December 1	Meets with Jenny Lind on at least eight occasions
December 1	Conducts the private world premiere of his Athalie in a stage performance of the play at the Royal Berlin Palace in Charlottenburg, with King Friedrich Wilhelm IV in attendance. (the 1st public performance is given on Nov. 10)
December 3	Travels with Jenny Lind to Leipzig
December 4-5	Conducts two concerts at the Gewandhaud in Leipzig, both featuring Jenny Lind
December 6	Accompanies Jenny Lind on the first leg of her journey back to Berlin (he stays with her until Dessau); and then returns to Leipzig

 

 

1846

January 1	Conducts world premiere of Robert Schuman’s Piano Concerto, Op. 54, at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, with Clara Schumann as soloist
End-January – Early-February	Spends time with Jenny Lind in Leipzig
February 12	Conducts Richard Wagner’s Prelude to Tannhäuser, in Leipzig
Early-March	Travels to Berlin, then shortly thereafter travels back to Leipzig
End-March	Travels to Dresden to meet with Saxon King Frederick Augustus II on Mar. 28; then travels back to Leipzig
End-May	Travels to Frankfurt to meet with Jenny Lind (on May 26), then the two of them (along with Lind’s chaperone) take a boat trip down the Rhine River to Aachen, where he conducts the Lower Rhine Music Festival, with Lind as the featured soloist (Festival: May 31 – June 2)
Ca. June 3	Travels with Jenny Lind to Cologne
Ca. June 4	Travels to Düsseldorf to conduct a concert on June 7
Ca, June 8	Travels to Liège, Belgium to attend the June 11 world premiere of his Lauda Sion (completed Feb. 10)
Ca, June 12	Travels to Cologne to participate in the German-Flemish Singing Festival (June 14-17)
Ca. June 18	Travels to Leipzig
Early-August	Completes the first version of his oratorio, Elijah
Mid-August	Travels to London (arr. ca. Aug. 18)
August 23	Travels to Birmingham, England
August 26	Conducts the world premiere of the first version of his oratorio, Elijah, at the 22nd Birmingham Music Festival
End-August	Travels to London
September 6	Travels to Leipzig via Ostende, Horchheim, and Frankfurt
November 5	Conducts the world premiere of Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op 61, at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig
Mid-November	Travels with his wife to Dresden, and then return to Leipzig (arr. Nov. 22)
Mid-December	Travels to Berlin, and then returns to Leipzig one week later

 

 

1847

February	Completes the second, and final, version of his oratorio, Elijah
End-February	Travels to Dresden to meet with Saxon King Frederick Augustus II (Feb 27), and then returns to Leipzig
April 8	Travels to London (arr. Apr. 12)
April 17 – end April	Has frequent meetings with Jenny Lind
April 18	Conducts the world premiere of the final version of his oratorio, Elijah, in London.
Late-April	Conducts five more performances in England of his Elijah in Manchester (Apr. 20), London (Apr. 23), with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in attendance, Birmingham (Apr. 27), and London (Apr. 28 and 30)
May 1	Meets with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in Buckingham Palace
May 5	Meets with Prince Albert
May 8	Departs London for the last time (after 10 trips to England), and travels to Frankfurt; en route, in Belgium, he is detained by authorities mistaking him for his cousin, Arnold Mendelssohn, who was wanted for petty theft (arr. Frankfurt May 12)
May 14	His sister, Fanny, dies in Berlin
May 18	Learns of the news of his sister’s death; he collapses from grief
End-May	Travels with his family to Baden-Baden
Ca. End-June	Travels with his family to Interlaken, Switzerland to spend the rest of the summer (including trips to Lucerne and Thun)
Early-September	Completes his String Quartet in F Minor, in Interlaken
September 17	Travels with his family to Leipzig (arr. Sep. 18)
October 9	Suffers a mild stroke
October 10	His doctor has leeches applied
October 28	Suffers a more severe stroke (leeches are applied)
November 3	Suffers a major stroke
November 4	Dies at his home in Leipzig (at 9:24PM )