Felix Mendelssohn - Famous Works

Oberon and Titania from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a scene that inspired Mendelssohn’s famous “Wedding March.”

Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) was one of the leading composers of early Romanticism, combining classical balance with Romantic expressiveness. His music is distinguished by formal clarity, elegance of style, and melodic refinement, while his work played a crucial role in the revival of interest in Johann Sebastian Bach.

His output spans symphonic music, chamber works, piano compositions, vocal music, and large-scale choral works. The following is a representative selection of his most significant compositions.

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Symphonies

Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, “Lobgesang”, Op. 52
Symphony No. 3 in A minor, “Scottish”, Op. 56
Symphony No. 4 in A major, “Italian”, Op. 90
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, “Reformation”, Op. 107

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Orchestral Works (Overtures)

Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21
The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave), Op. 26
The Fair Melusine, Op. 32

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Concertos

Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40

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Chamber Music

String Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20
Cello Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2, Opp. 45 and 58
String Quartets (Opp. 12, 13, 44 Nos. 1–3, 80)
String Quintets Nos. 1 & 2, Opp. 18 and 87

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Piano Music

Capriccio in F-sharp minor, Op. 5
Fantasia in F-sharp minor (“Scottish Sonata”), Op. 28
Lieder ohne Worte (Songs Without Words), Books I–VIII

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Vocal Music (Lieder)

Approximately 70 songs for voice and piano
Two Sacred Songs, Op. 112

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Choral / Oratorio Works

Paulus, Op. 36
Elias, Op. 70

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Incidental Music

The First Walpurgis Night, Op. 60
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61

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🔎 Work Analyses of Felix Mendelssohn on MusiLLection

You can explore detailed analyses of selected works below:

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Robert Schumann - Träumerei, from Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 7 (Analysis)

The Woodman’s Child by Arthur Hughes — an image reflecting the quiet innocence and dreamlike atmosphere of Schumann’s Träumerei ℹ️ Work Information Composer: Robert Schumann Work Title: Träumerei from Kinderszenen , Op. 15, No. 7 Year of Composition: 1838 Collection: Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) Duration: approximately 2–3 minutes Form: Short piano miniature Instrumentation: piano _________________________ Few piano works have managed to capture, with such simplicity and sensitivity, the world of memory as Schumann’s Träumerei . Among the thirteen pieces of Kinderszenen (1838), the seventh stands out not only for its popularity, but for its enduring poetic resonance. For Schumann, music was never merely form; it was an inner language. Kinderszenen does not depict childhood — it reflects upon it. It is the gaze of the adult toward a lost world of innocence. As Schumann himself suggested, these pieces are “recollections of a grown-up for the y...

Handel - Concerto for Organ and Orchestra No.13 in F Major, HWV 295, "The Cuckoo and The Nahtingale"

In this Organ Concerto, Handel famously imitates birdsong, a rare and charming example of musical pictorialism in his instrumental output. The characteristic calls of the cuckoo and the nightingale give the work its enduring subtitle and contribute to its immediate appeal. Like Handel’s other organ concertos, Concerto No. 13 was composed to be performed during the intervals of his oratorios. It was first presented on April 4, 1739, at the Royal Theatre in London, just two days after its completion, alongside the oratorio Israel in Egypt . Many of these concertos—including this one—contain extensive ad libitum passages. During these sections, the organist was expected to improvise freely, using the written material merely as a framework. Handel himself was a superb organist and astonished audiences with the brilliance and inventiveness of his improvisations. Movements: - Larghetto The concerto opens with a brief orchestral introduction presenting a gentle, expressive theme. The orga...

Frédéric Chopin – Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 (Analysis)

The famous monument to Frédéric Chopin in Paris, reflecting the dramatic and poetic spirit of his music. ℹ️ Work Information Composer: Frédéric Chopin Title: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 Date of composition: 1831–1835 Dedication: Baron Nathaniel von Stockhausen First publication: 1836 Approximate duration: 9–10 minutes Form: Free narrative form with elements of sonata structure Instrumentation: Piano solo _____________________________ In early 19th-century aesthetics, the word “ballade” did not imply a codified musical structure but a narrative impulse rooted in poetry. Adam Mickiewicz’s dramatic ballads shaped an entire generation of Polish Romantic thought, and it was within this cultural atmosphere that Frédéric Chopin conceived his four Ballades. Yet Chopin did something unprecedented: he transformed a literary narrative model into an autonomous instrumental form. Unlike Robert Schumann , who frequently embedded explicit literary or autobiographical refere...

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