Letters of Felix Mendelssohn to Ignaz and Charlotte Moscheles

In Short

This collection gathers the warm, unreserved letters sent by composer Felix Mendelssohn to his trusted mentor and lifelong friend, the pianist Ignaz Moscheles, along with his wife Charlotte. Spanning nearly two decades, the correspondence tracks Mendelssohn’s meteoric career across London, Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Leipzig. Rich with private artistic commentary, practical concert planning, household banter, and candid critiques of contemporaries like Berlioz and Chopin, the volume paints an affectionate portrait of a deep creative partnership that endured until Mendelssohn’s premature death.

The Story

The volume opens as a youthful, wildly energetic Mendelssohn prepares for his pivotal 1829 journey from Berlin to London. Eager to present his overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream to English audiences, he relies on the experienced Ignaz Moscheles to help navigate logistics, house-hunting, and local custom-house regulations. From these early days, a warm, familial intimacy takes root. Mendelssohn treats the Moscheles household in London’s Chester Place as a sanctuary, trading playful notes with Charlotte regarding health, lost laundry, and family dinners, while standing as godfather to their son Felix.

As the years progress, the correspondence mirrors Mendelssohn’s relentless professional growth and expanding responsibilities. He invites Moscheles to Berlin for joyous musical reunions, humorously describing his apartment as the "Green-score Hotel." Later, while directing music in Düsseldorf, Mendelssohn recounts chaotic personal mishaps—such as a runaway horse scattering onlookers—alongside serious rehearsals of Bach and Handel. When he assumes leadership of the Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig, his correspondence turns toward structural reforms. He lobbies fiercely to raise orchestral salaries, resists commercialized efforts to raise stone monuments to dead masters, and works tirelessly to refine performance standards.

Together, the two friends champion high artistic ideals against what they see as the empty virtuosity or chaotic trends of their era. Mendelssohn offers sharp, witty assessments of figures like Berlioz, criticizing noisy orchestration while remaining scrupulously honest about his own compositions. When Moscheles sends new piano studies or concertos, Mendelssohn scrutinizes them with detailed, loving precision, suggesting specific harmonic adjustments to final chords.

The narrative reaches a major turning point with the founding of the Leipzig Conservatorio. Mendelssohn successfully recruits Moscheles to leave London and join the faculty in Leipzig. Settled near one another at last, the friends enjoy daily camaraderie, testing new works like Elijah at the piano, making meticulous revisions to choruses, and fine-tuning tempos for Mozart symphonies. These bright years in Leipzig showcase Mendelssohn at the height of his creative powers, surrounded by family, devoted students, and cherished peers like Joseph Joachim and Ferdinand David. The editorial commentary and notes gently bring the collection to a close following Mendelssohn's passing, leaving behind a profound testament to artistic integrity and enduring fellowship.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Preparing for his first major journey to London in 1829, Mendelssohn coordinates details with Moscheles following successful Berlin performances of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. He seeks practical advice on custom-house checks for his handwritten scores, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, while marveling at Paganini's extraordinary violin technique.

Reunions in Berlin and London Mendelssohn enthusiastically invites Moscheles to stay at his Berlin quarters, dubbed the "Green-score Hotel," where the duo perform Beethoven and conduct festive private concerts. In turn, Mendelssohn becomes a fixture at the Moscheles family home in London, penning lighthearted notes about missed theater doors and playful excuses for dinner invitations.

Refining the orchestra From Düsseldorf and later Leipzig, Mendelssohn shares his efforts to elevate musical life, prioritizing fair pay for orchestral musicians over hollow public monuments. He exchanges candid critiques with Moscheles regarding modern composers, rejecting empty display in favor of solid, practical musicianship.

Building the Conservatorio Mendelssohn launches the Leipzig Conservatorio, fighting internal pressure to expand too quickly and insisting on rigorous core training for students. He persuades Moscheles to accept a professorship, bringing his friend's family to reside permanently in Leipzig's historic Gerhard's Garten.

The final masterpieces In their shared Leipzig home, Moscheles observes Mendelssohn putting the finishing touches on Elijah, recording specific rehearsal instructions and tempo adjustments. The correspondence concludes as the two friends share their final collaborative rehearsals and intimate musical evenings.

The People

Felix Mendelssohn A brilliant, restless composer and conductor driven by a passion for artistic rigor. He seeks deep personal connection and professional validation, struggling constantly against fatigue, administrative squabbles, and public pressures, yet maintaining a generous, playful spirit toward those he loves.

Ignaz Moscheles An acclaimed elder pianist, composer, and teacher who serves as Mendelssohn's trusted mentor, confidant, and artistic sounding board. He wants to nurture genuine musical craft in an era of growing commercialism, eventually moving his life from London to Leipzig to join Mendelssohn's vision.

Charlotte Moscheles Ignaz’s wife, who creates a warm, welcoming home in London that serves as Mendelssohn's haven. She receives many of Mendelssohn’s most charming letters, songs, and light banter, acting as a key anchor in his personal life.

In Its Own Voice

"Besides, it really is a shame to set nothing but murder, misery, and wailing to music; even if it were well done, it would simply give us a record of atrocities."

Mendelssohn reflects unreservedly to Moscheles on the dark, chaotic trends he perceives in Hector Berlioz’s orchestrations.

"I don’t care for their stones and blocks as long as their orchestras are only stumbling-blocks; nor for their Conservatorios in which there is nothing worth conserving."

Writing from Leipzig, Mendelssohn emphasizes his conviction that supporting living musicians matters far more than erecting static monuments to past masters.

"‘Rather err on the side of vigor than on the side of drowsiness.’"

Moscheles captures Mendelssohn’s direct, energetic instruction to the choir during a Leipzig rehearsal of Elijah.

What It's Really About

Behind the logistical details of nineteenth-century concert life, the book examines the nature of true artistic integrity. It investigates how serious musicians can preserve high standards when surrounding institutions lean toward commercial spectacle, superficial virtuosity, or bureaucratic expansion. Mendelssohn continuously wrestles with the balance between public duty—conducting, managing schools, raising orchestral wages—and the quiet, demanding inner life required for genuine composition. At its core, the volume serves as a study in friendship, showing how mutual respect, open criticism, and shared humor sustain creative energy across long distances and demanding careers.

Why Read It Today

This book offers a captivating, behind-the-scenes view of nineteenth-century European musical life, stripped of romanticized mythology. Readers fascinated by classical music, cultural history, or the art of letter writing will find immense charm in Mendelssohn’s natural, sparkling prose. Rather than reading like a formal treatise, the letters feel like dropping in on private conversations filled with sharp humor, earnest self-doubt, and affectionate ribbing.

The primary hurdle for modern readers lies in the period context. The text assumes familiarity with minor nineteenth-century musicians, old travel routes, and obscure administrative details, while the editorial framework relies heavily on interpolated diary entries and footnotes. Yet these historical specifics never obscure the warmth of the central relationship. What remains is an inspiring, intensely human portrait of an artist who gave himself entirely to his craft, balanced by a rare and beautiful friendship that grounded him until the end.