Conducted by John Finney, this concert features music of Felix Mendelssohn, in celebration of his 200th birthday.
Felix Mendelssohn was born into a wealthy Hamburg family in 1809 and studied piano with his mother as a young child and, later, with Carl Zelter in Berlin. As a child, he composed numerous chamber works; at seventeen, he wrote his first great composition, the overture to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 1833, he was appointed Music Director of the town of Dusseldorf; two years later, he was appointed conductor of the prestigious Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig. His busy professional life included performing throughout Europe as a pianist and composer. A prolific composer, Mendelssohn’s works include piano concertos, quartets and quintets, piano sonatas, and oratorios. He died at the age of 38, leaving a large body of orchestral and choral work.
Of Mendelssohn’s psalm settings, Psalm 42 “Wie der Hirsch schreit” is among his most famous. He began work on the piece in April 1837; it would occupy him for the next ten months until its completion in February 1838. Mendelssohn himself seems to have considered Psalm 42 to be an especially successful composition. It is reported that he referred to it as “my best sacred piece.” The beautiful imagery (“As a hart pants”) and drama of the text of Psalm 42 makes this an especially lovely verse set to music.