The Mendelssohn Project is the primary source for information on all matters relating to Felix Mendelssohn.
Felix Mendelssohn(1809-1847) was the most celebrated, influential, and respected musician of his time, as well as a brilliant composer, performer, and leading figure in European cultural life. He was a giant among giants. But the brightly shining firmament which was Felix Mendelssohn was almost totally eclipsed by the creeping nightmare of anti-Semitism shortly after the composer’s death. All but a small handful of his works were suddenly relegated to obscurity.
Led by its founder and artistic director, Stephen Somary, and in collaboration with some of the world’s most respected Mendelssohn experts, The Mendelssohn Project (‘TMP’) began its world-wide research in 1997, and compiled the world's first complete list of Felix Mendelssohn's works. TMP unveiled this list to the public in 2005 to coincide with the launch of its first website.
The amount of great music by this esteemed composer which had never been heard by that point was staggering. No less than 250 of his 800-plus compositions were still completely unknown, and even more remained unpublished. Over the past couple of decades, many of these works have been given their world premiere (some by TMP), publications have increased exponentially, numerous books have been written, and a true Mendelssohn revolution is now underway.
Since its inception, the central goal of The Mendelssohn Project has been to lead the charge to acquaint the world with Mendelssohn’s music, letters, beautiful artworks, and his towering legacy. Before his reputation’s sudden demise at the hands of German Nationalists, Felix Mendelssohn's name was spoken in the same breath as Mozart and Beethoven. But within only a few years of his death, his name was hardly spoken at all.
The Mendelssohn Project has seen it as its duty to aid in bringing the truths of this extraordinary story to light, and hopes that current and future generations will have enough information to see fit to reinstate Felix Mendelssohn to his former place in the pantheon of the most revered composers in the history of the western world.
