Leipzig III - Mendelssohn

Goldschmidtstrausse 12, Leipzig. Now are painted the words "Mendelssohn Haus," which is a recent addition. Mendelssohn came to Leipzig as conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1835 and lived here until his death in 1847. He lived in this house the last two years of his life. He died of what appears to be a stroke, at the age of 38. He also lived on the first floor, or second in U.S. terminology. This house is roughly two blocks from Augustplatz, site of the Gewandhaus.

Staircase up to the apartment.
I did not realize Mendelssohn did a lot of painting. Several of his watercolors are here. I liked this one in particular, from Bavaria. The barn at the lower right has rocks lining the roof, a feature I remember from Army days driving around Bavaria.

In his study, busts of Bach and Goethe. Goethe heard both Mozart and Mendelssohn play as children (Mozart was born in 1756 and Mendelssohn in 1809.) Mozart died at 35 and Mendelssohn at 38, the lesson being, if you're into conspiracy theories: Don't let Goethe hear you play as a child. For the record, Goethe thought the child Mendelssohn superior to the child Mozart -- I remember some statement about hearing Mendelssohn made Mozart sound like the prattle of -- I forget. As an adult Mendelssohn had several visits with Goethe, seemed to like him (not knowing of the curse) and set several of his poems to music.

This apartment is laid out very much like the Schumanns', which is logical since they were built only about ten years apart.

The composer's study. His writing desk and piano (I'll call it a piano. I defer to knowledgeable people.)

Piano in the main salon.

The main salon. Regular gatherings were held here, as in the Schumann salon. Poetry, discussions, and music. Liszt and Berlioz and Wagner played here, although Mendelssohn didn't think much of their music. Had Wagner known of the Goethe curse, he could have written a whole cycle of wandering, aimless operas, probably averaging about 4 and a half hours each, about the whole sordid affair.

The central hall. I liked the flooring -- what looked to be oak planks roughly 30" wide and 7 or 8' long. Don't find trees like that anymore.