The painting "Song Without Words" by Poetzelberger, [s.d.]

Photograph of the painting "Song Without Words" by Poetzelberger, [s.d.]. Two youths, Jakob Mendelssohn and his sister, Fanny, are shown seated at a harpsichord, dressed in Victorian-era clothing. At center, the young man plays the keys while a young woman sits to his right on the bench, leaning her head on his shoulder. A clock is visible behind her on the paneled walls that surround them. Beneath the harpsichord, a thin rug bunches in spots.; Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny by R. Poetzelberger. The picture of Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny, characteristic of the understanding and affection that existed between the two, calls to mind happy hours they spent together creating melodies and playing the works of others. Everything that fortune could bestow was showered upon Felix Mendelssohn. He was the elder son of a rich and highly cultured family in Hamburg and grandson of one of the greatest philosophers of the time, Moses Mendelssohn. His father's house was a rendezvous for the leading figures of the day. A composer at eight, a world figure at seventeen, the best beloved musician in Europe at twenty-five, his was a happy lot. At the height of his career he married Cecile Jeanrenaud, the pretty seventeen-year-old daughter of a minister. In 1843 he opened a college of music at Leipzig. At this time Jenny Lind was captivating all Europe with her singing, and he introduced her to the critical audiences at Leipzig. Following this he made a tour of England with her. Mendelssohn wove the loveliness around him into his music. Always a tireless worker, he left several hundred compositions, including songs both for the voice and "without words," oratorios, chorals, piano, and orchestral music. His beautiful overture to the "Midsummer Night's Dream" was written when the composer was only seventeen.