Felix Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto in E minorFelix Mendelssohn grew up in a wealthy family, with a strong Jewish faith, and was one of four children. He was born in 1809 in Hamburg, Germany, and died in Leipzig, Germany in 1847. Soon after the birth of him and his sister Fanny, the family moved to Berlin, to escape Napoleon's French troops. While in Berlin, the Mendelssohn family experienced some wealth; for this reason Felix was able to meet many artists, musicians, philosophers and writers. At the young age of thirteen, Mendelssohn was an accomplished composer. During his thirty-eight years of life, Mendelssohn traveled the world as a pianist and musical director. Mendelssohn was director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra from 1835 to 1840, and then from 1845 to 1847, he also served at the Berlin Philharmonic in various capacities from 1840 to 1844. Felix Mendelssohn also founded the Leipzig Conservatory in Germany, with faculty including Robert Schumann. Mendelssohn and Mozart are often compared, due to the large amount of similarities they have. Both Mendelssohn and Mozart began playing and composing music at a young age. Both had a virtuosic quality. These composers also had the misfortune of dying prematurely; Mendelssohn died at the age of thirty-eight and Mozart at thirty-five. Mendelssohn's life was not always carefree and easy; he often set too high expectations for himself, which added a lot of tension to his life. Because he was Jewish, he was also a victim of anti-Semitism. Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor is a staple in professional violin literature. The music begins with the solo violin playing the main theme. Note that before Mendelssohn officiates...... middle of paper ...... the developmental beings are introduced. It is here that the composer develops his themes; it is similar to the body paragraphs of an essay. During the development the violins carry most of the theme, while the main theme is fragmented, and then varied in the solo violin part. At the end of the development, the solo violin drops into the lower register and the orchestra grows. After development comes cadence. The cadence is the place in music where the soloist is allowed to showcase his virtuosic qualities. The first composer to use a cadenza was Mozart, however the first composer to use the virtuosic quality was Vivaldi. Mendelssohn's cadence is unique because he wrote it all down, leaving no room for interpretation or improvisation. The cadence is played only with the solo violin, and is composed of broken chords and numerous trills. The main melody is