Brief Candles
With Donald Macleod. Felix
Mendelssohn packed more into his
38 years than some people do into a lifetime twice as long. He came from a rich banking family that provided him with every opportunity, particularly when it came to travelling. Mendelssohn made no fewer than ten trips to Britain, including the visit to the Hebrides which inspired his overture Fingal's Cave. He also developed a close relationship with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Felix was very close to his sister Fanny, and when she died suddenly, he suffered a great shock from which he never really recovered. He died a few months later.
SOUNDING THE CENTURY