Mendelssohn for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first

Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer who lived from 1809 to 1847. He wrote his overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream when he was 17, and it is still played all over the world. His music is bright, quick, and clear. The best first piece for a child is that overture, where fast, light strings stand for fairies and the orchestra brays like a donkey.

Quick facts

• Born: 1809, in Hamburg, Germany
• Died: 1847, in Leipzig, Germany
• Era: Romantic
• Played: piano and organ
• Known for: the music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Violin Concerto, and the “Italian” Symphony

The life in short

Felix grew up in Berlin in a family that loved books, art, and music. He and his older sister, Fanny, had the same teachers, and both wrote music from childhood. Read her story in Fanny Mendelssohn for kids.

He played his first public concert at nine. Between the ages of 12 and 14, he wrote a dozen symphonies for string orchestra. The family held concerts at home on Sundays, and his new pieces were played there.

When he was 20, he led a performance of a huge work by Bach, the St. Matthew Passion. It had not been performed since Bach’s own lifetime. The concert helped a new generation hear Bach’s music.

Felix traveled through Scotland and Italy as a young man. He drew and painted what he saw, and he turned it into music too. A sea cave on a Scottish island became The Hebrides Overture.

He settled in Leipzig, where he led the city orchestra and started a music school. He died at 38, less than six months after his sister.

What the music sounds like

Mendelssohn’s music moves fast and stays light. The strings often play quick, soft notes that sound like something small with wings.

His tunes are neat and singable. Nothing is muddy. Every instrument can be heard.

He also wrote pictures in sound. In The Hebrides, the low strings roll like waves, and the music rises and falls the way water does.

Four pieces to play first

Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Four soft chords in the woodwinds begin the piece. Then the violins scurry, soft and fast, as the fairies. Later, listen for a loud “hee-haw” that drops from a high note to a low one. That is Bottom, a character in the play who is turned into a donkey.

Wedding March. Mendelssohn wrote more music for the same play 16 years after the overture. This march comes from it. Trumpets start a fanfare, and the full orchestra follows. It is played at weddings around the world.

The Hebrides Overture. One short, rocking pattern repeats again and again in the low strings, like waves. Ask your child to sway with it.

Violin Concerto in E minor, last movement. The solo violin skips and darts through a happy tune while the orchestra tries to keep up.

Things to do together

Fairies and donkeys. Play the overture. Tiptoe on your toes for the fairy music. Stop and bray when the donkey arrives.

Wave drawing. Play The Hebrides Overture. Draw one long line of waves across a page, small when the music is soft and tall when it is loud.

March in. Play the Wedding March and make a grand entrance into the room. Then choose who walks in next.

Print and play

Print the Mendelssohn fact sheet. It has the story, three pieces, and room to write and draw. Find him on the composer timeline, between Schubert and Brahms.

Next, read Bach for kids to meet the composer whose music he brought back. For all 24 composers by era, see classical composers for kids.