Episode Details

Felix Mendelssohn composed a string octet at sixteen that professionals twice his age could not match. But his most consequential act was conducting Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in 1829, a work unheard for nearly a century, reigniting interest in a composer the world had forgotten.

This episode follows Mendelssohn from his privileged Berlin childhood through his European travels, his transformation of the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and his early death at thirty-eight.

• He conducted the 1829 revival of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, rescuing Bach’s choral works from obscurity
• His Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream was composed at seventeen
• He founded the Leipzig Conservatory, one of Europe’s most important music schools
• His Wedding March is still played at weddings worldwide