By Eileen Wingard in La Jolla, California
All six Treasures of the Jewish Music Collection presentations for the coming season, which will take place in the newly renovated Astor Judaica Library, will feature Jewish-born classical composers.
The first, Thursday afternoon, September 3, at 2 p.m. will showcase the music of Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, the Jewish-born grandchildren of Moses Mendelssohn, one of the greatest Jewish theologians and philosophers of his time.
I will be hosting the program and my guest will be Professor Deborah Hertz, who holds the Herman Wouk Chair in Modern Jewish Studies at UCSD. Hertz, a historian with specialties in modern German history, modern Jewish history, and modern European women’s history, will speak about the Mendelssohn family and their times. Her publications include How Jews Became Germans and Jewish High Society in Old Regime Berlin.
Fanny and Felix grandfather, Moses, was born in Dessau, where he was steeped in Jewish learning. He managed to make his way to Berlin to study at the university. Subsequently, he translated the Hebrew Bible into German and was a leading figure in the enlightenment. He advocated for fraternization with the larger society, not assimilation.
Yet, by the time Moses’ son Abraham, father of Felix and Fanny, recognized Felix’s great talent, and Moses was deceased, having died when Abraham was ten years old, Abraham heeded the advice of his brother-in-law, Jacob Salomon, now Jacob Salomon Bartholdy, who, after converting to Christianity, became a Prussian diplomat. The brother-in-law urged that Abraham’s family convert to Christianity to allow the children greater opportunities in the larger society and especially for Felix to develop his great musical talent.
Some signs that Felix still recognized his Jewish ancestry is the fact that, despite his father’s insisting that he drop the name, Mendelssohn, because that was an indication of his Jewish roots, Mendelssohn retained the name. Another, was the positive response he and Fanny showed, as indicated by their correspondence, when the British Parliament recognized Jews as full citizens. Also, his most famous Oratorio, Elijah, is based on texts from the Jewish prophetic book.
In addition to a Chorus from Elijah, the recorded musical selections for the September 3rd will include the first published piece by 17-year-old Felix, the Overture to A Midsummer’s Night Dream, the Wedding March from the incidental music to A Midsummer’s Night Dream, a song by Fanny Mendelssohn, excerpts from the trios by Fanny and Felix, excerpts from Felix’s Violin Concerto in E minor, and the slow movement of the Italian Symphony by Felix.
Forthcoming programs in this season of Jewish-born composers will include: October 29, Composers of the Russian Jewish Folksong Society, with guest, Ilana Shapiro; December 3, French-Jewish composers, with guest, David Gmach; February 25, Mahler and Gernsheim, with guest, Enrique Lombroso; April 15, Bloch and Schoenberg, with guest, David Amos; May 13, Copeland, Bernstein, and Foss, with guest, Allan Endy.
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Eileen Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.