Book Reviews

825

The musical examples are all beautifully

printed and I found only one transcription
mistake in example 16, where measure 19
should be an E-flat chord and measure 20 a
B-flat (p. 403). The bibliography is extensive and thorough, though its format (and
that of the footnotes) is somewhat curious.
Bohmer has written a valuable study, which
deserves to be on musicological reference
shelves, particularly once he adds an indispensable index.
IMANUEL WILLHEIM

University ofHartford

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: A Guide

to Research: 'With an Introduction to
Research Concerning Fanny Hensel.
By John Michael Cooper. (Composer
Resource Manuals, 54.) New York:
Routledge, 2001. [ix, 308 p. ISBN 08153-1513-9. $85.)
The Mendelssohn Companion. Edited
by Douglass Seaton. New York:
Greenwood Press, 2001. [xii, 799 p.
ISBN 0-313-28455-8. $120.)
John Michael Cooper's volume in the
Composer Resource Manuals series is an
essential and much-needed tool for all
Mendelssohn scholars. In his introduction,
the author points out the uneven nature of
Mendelssohn scholarship and its immense
growth after World War II, demonstrating
the necessity for an assessment of the
available resources. This book is the first
comprehensive resource guide for Mendelssohn, conveniently pulling together
many separate bibliographical resources.
The most important of these are the bibliography in the first edition of The New

Grove by Eveline Bartlitz (The New, Grove

Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed.

Stanley Sadie [London: Macmillan, 1980],

12:156-59) and revised by R Larry Todd

for The New Grove Early Romantic Masters 2

(London: Macmillan, 1985); and Ralf

Wehner's bibliographical references found
in the congress report of the Berlin

Mendelssohn Symposium (Felix Mendelssohn

Bartholdy Kongress-Bericht Berlin 1994, ed.

Christian Martin Schmidt [Wiesbaden:

Breitkopf und Hairtel, 1997]) and his

Studien zum geistlichen Chorschaffen des jungen

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (Sinzig: Studio,

1996). Despite the fact that the second edition of The New Grove was in preparation at
the same time as this book, it seems odd
that Cooper did not mention Todd's updated bibliography anywvhere. Although
Cooper's inclusion of materials in English,
German, French, Italian, and Spanish will
be the starting point of many research projects for years to come, his laudable attempt
to include some of the newest scholarship
seems surprisingly inconsistent. Of the
tvelve chapters, for example, of Douglass
Seaton's The Mendelssohn Companion, only

four were listed in this book.

The annotated bibliography of 938 items
is organized into six chapters: "Life-andWorks Studies," "Memoirs, Recollections,
and Editions of Letters," "Sociological and
Cultural Studies," "Documentary Studies,"
"Studies of Individual Works and Repertoires," and "General Studies of the Music
of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy." While
Cooper's categorization works well, he cannot escape the problem inherent in any
thematic division: because 'many items
might fit equally well into tvo or more of
these content-units, the reader is encouraged to consult the indexes closely" (p. 8).
Since the three indexes for names, compositions, and subjects prove to be very helpful tools, it is disappointing to find mistakes
in them. A better solution might have been
the use of cross-listings and more use of
cross-referencing.
Cooper's annotations are excellent and
extremely helpful. Almost all of the comments aid the scholar in gaining an understanding of the focus of the study and placing that item in its proper context. The
personal tone and opinions expressed in
some of the annotations actually add to the
user-friendliness of the book. The lack of
annotations to other sources, however, is
regrettable. Cooper's explanation, "in the
interest of space, . . . items whose titles are
sufficiently self-explanatory, are not annotated" (p. 8), is misleading. Many items
without annotations, which include articles,
dissertations, and books, bear titles that do
not convey much about their content. The
title of item 868, "Die Entwicklung des
Romantisclien in der Instrumentalmusik
Felix Mendelssohn Bartlholdys," is no more
helpful to the reader than that of item 867,
"Formal Novelty and Tradition in the Early

826

NOTES, June 2002

Romantic Piano Concerto"; yet only the sec- future nineteenth-century scholars. Its
ond entry is followed by a lengthy annota- breadth of coverage and wealth of information make it an indispensable aid for
tion.
Mendelssohn's worklist, found in appendix Mendelssohn research.
In contrast, Douglass Seaton's collection
B, differs from previous worklists in its organization. Cooper decided to list works within of twelve essays by ten scholars reflects the
each category chronologically according to state of Mendelssohn scholarship 150 years
their completion dates (or the latest surviving after the composer's death. Seaton points
manuscript in the case of unpublished out in his preface that "serious, scholarly
works). Cooper also makes an important dis- work on Mendelssohn has begun in earnest
tinction between compositions published by only recently" (p. xi). The first three chapMendelssohn and those purposefully un- ters attempt to rectify the misconceptions
published or published posthumously. The of Mendelssohn's life and work by estabworklist proves to be much more user lishing a richer and more informed historifriendly than other standard worklists. Never- cal, cultural, and intellectual context. The
theless, a more extensive list by Cooper, in- next eight chapters survey Mendelssohn's
cluding a complete inventory of known work from new perspectives. The last chapsurviving manuscript sources, can be found ter contains a comprehensive work list.
in Seaton's The Mendelssohn Companion Newly translated documents, including
("Mendelssohn's Works: Prolegomenon to a some providing historical context, follow
each chapter.
Comprehensive Inventory").
In "Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and
Appendix A, "A Bibliographic Introduction to Research Concerning Fanny Hensel," Emancipation: The Origins of Felix Menconsists of forty-one entries, "a selective bib- delssohn's Aesthetic Outlook," Leon Botliographical survey of some important stein proposes to "take Mendelssohn out of
scholarly achievements concerning her life, the 'Romantic Generation' and defy the
music, and influence" (p. 10). A compari- narrow chronology of a music-historical
son with the nineteen bibliographic items narrative segmented out of cultural and soin The Nero Grove (The New Grove Dictionary cial history and consider Mendelssohn
of Music and Musicians, 2d ed. [New York: anew" (p. 3). Botstein convincingly places
Grove, 2001], 16:389) shows the extensive- the composer in a cultural context of neoclassic Berlin of the early nineteenth cenness of Cooper's;list. It remains to be seen
tury and shows the strong phiilosophical inif the customary treatment of Fanny Hensel
as an appendix to her younger brother fluence of both his grandfather Moses
have aided or hindered Hensel Mendelssohn; and Johann Goethe. This
Felix wvill
scholarship. Cooper expresses his own con- new context causes some criticisms of
cern over the general treatment of Hensel, Mendelssohn's music to disappear by show.a composer of considerable merit to ing the motivation behind his aesthetic
whom no composer resource manual or choices: the often maligned simplicity and
other comparable volume has yet been beauty in his music, for example, that
dedicated" (p. 9-10). The entries are with- "evoke the three aspects of Moses Mendelsout annotations, as these would "exceed sohn's sense of the power of music-the
the limits of this book; an annotated Hensel intuitive sense of beauty, rational completeGuide to Research must await a future un- ness, and fulfilled desire-are the objecdertaking" (p. 10). The bibliography is tive" (p. 18-19). The fact that the composer had a much clearer and more
divided into five categories: Life-andWorks Studies; Editions of Letters; Family refined conception of the function of muRelationships and Reception History; sic in society than his contemporaries adds
layers of complexity to the music not recogStudies of Music Manuscript and Papers;
and Studies of Hensel's Music. It seems nized before. Botstein's summation of
strange that the numbering of entries from Mendelssohn's aesthetics forms the foundaunrelated previous chapters continues, al- tion on which most of the other chapters
are built.
lotting Hensel entries 639-79.
Marian Wilson Kimber, in her essay on
The above-mentioned shortcomings in
presentation and content of Cooper's Mendelssolin's relationship to his family
guide do not lessen the importance of the and friends, continues slaying dragons of
book to the community of current and misconception: "The Romantic notion that

Book Reviews
artists suffer from abuse or misunderstanding of the world around them has been
transformed into the notion that artists
must experience personal alienation in
their lives in order to create art" (p. 61).
Kimber's argument is similar to Botstein's
in showing that certain areas of criticism
vere contributing factors to Mendelssohn's
development. "Mendelssohn is criticized
not for actual faults in his music, but for
the very aspects of his life that enabled him
to be a great musician: education, support
from family, artistic interchange wvith
friends across Europe" (p. 62). Kimber's arguments are based on her excellent portrayal of Mendelssohn's relationship wvith
family and friends. Her tone, however, is at
times too defensive, weakening her strong
arguments against these misconceptions.
Donald Mintz focuses on an often overlooked aspect of Mendelssohn's life in his
chapter entitled, "Mendelssohn as Performer and Teacher." Mintz superbly establishes Mendelssohn's tremendous impact
on the musical world of his time as a performer, and evaluates his work as conductor, pianist, organist, string player, and
teacher through the comments of friends
and reviewers, then draws appropriate conclusions. While this chapter clearly enriches
our understanding of his multi-faceted talents, it also lays the foundation and raises
questions for future scholarship on the intersection of Mendelssohn the composer
and Mendelssohn the performer.
Each of the next eight chapters gives an
overview of a specific area of Mendelssohn's compositional output and places the
works in their biographical and cultural
context. Seaton's tvo chapters on the dramatic music and the songs show most
clearly the scope and purpose of this section. In his comprehensive survey of
Mendelssohn's dramatic music, Seaton
highlights the surprising importance of the
early stage works. After a detailed discussion of Mendelssohn's frustrating quest for
an opera libretto, he closes the chapter
vith an overview of the composer's incidental music. Since many of Mendelssohn's
dramatic works are unknown to most readers, Seaton's musical examples are effective
and helpful tools to acquaint the reader
with the composer's dramatic style. "With
Words: Mendelssohn's Vocal Songs" shows
how Mendelssohn's style was rooted in the
tradition of the Berlin song school. Seaton

827
sums up in a superb fashion the composer's aesthetic principles regarding musical expression and text, and his observations on the songs based on the poetry they
set, vocal and melodic issues, accompaniment, and forms, bring the composer's output into clear focus. A table or list of the
established groupings of the songs in this
survey wvould have been helpful.
In his discussion of Mendelssohn's two
finished oratorios, Friedhelm Krummacher
sees in each work a compositional answer
to aesthetic questions regarding music, art,
and religion. Krummacher identifies the
social and historical issues correctly and
shows convincingly how Mendelssohn responded to them. His observation of an
evolutionary process in Mendelssohn's approach to the oratorio, however, seems unfounded. Based on comments by Robert
Schumann, Krummacher sees St. Paul as a
first attempt while ElUah represents Mendelssohn's mature oratorio style. To argue for
this view, Krummacher has to forgo a discussion of Mendelssohn's approach in the
fragments of Christus, as they would reveal a
"regressive" approach more similar to that
of St. Paul; he also leaves out comments
from letters that contradict his reasoning
(Felix Mendelssohn, Briefwechsel zwischen
Felix.Mendelssohn undj Schubringzugleich ein
Beitrag zur Geschichte des Oratoriums, ed.
Julius Schubring [Leipzig: Duncker &
Humblot, 1892], 6 September 1833, 41).
Krummacher's discussion of the music itself, however, is excellenL
Thomas Grey's interpretations of
Mendelssohn's orchestral music are very
helpful to understanding the composer's
symphonic laniguage. Especially interesting
is Grey's discussion of the "Reformation"
Symphony. Because of the quantity of
works discussed in this chapter, formal diagrams would have been more effective than
wordy descriptions.
R Larry Todd's chapter on Mendelssohn's
piano music and Robert C. Mann's on the
organ music present strong cases in their
contextualization and discussion of the role
that keyboard music played in Mendelssohn's life. Both chapters show the composer's concern for the poor quality of
contemporary keyboard compositions.
Todd's explanation of Mendelssohn's conceptual approach to piano music presents a
practical application of Botstein's theoretical outline in the opening chapter. Mann's

NOTES, June 2002

828strong claim that Mendelssolhn's organ

works "rescued both the instrument and its
repertoire from the base level to which they
had fallen by the early nirieteenth century
and provided a direction for both to follow
through the remainder of the century and
to the present day' (p. 625) is substantiated
convincingly in the ensuing discussion of
the music. Todd's use of musical examples,
especially those of rejected movements, is
very helpful.
The twvo areas of Mendelssohn's compositional output not covered as thoroughly
are his church music and chamber music.
Both articles dealing with these topics are
translations of previously published studies.
While their scope and function differ
greatly from the other chapters, they nevertheless complement the volume in their application of the general aesthetic principles. Georg Feder's chapter on the
church music is much broader than the
others. His insights into Mendelssohn's
view of music and liturgy, however, are
noteworthy: "Mendelssohn did not have an
aversion to purely liturgical music, but
rather to purely ceremonial music, in the
sense of a liturgical piece that does not allow for any individual expression or emotional animation on the part of the composer" (p. 271). Friedhelm Krummacher
deals only with Mendelssohn's string quartets in his chapter, and his focus is not on
the chamber music per se but on musical
interpretation. The chapter might have
been placed more appropriately toward
the beginning of the book, as it proposes
a newv, individualized and constructive
approach to Mendelssohn's instrumental
music.
The Mendelssohn Companion represents a

milestone in Mendelssohn scholarship. The

quality and breadth of these studies lay the
foundation for a new phase in Mendelssohn scholarship. The correction of false
assumptions about music of the early nineteenth century and misrepresentations of
Mendelssohn's life and music, as well as the
establishment of a historically accurate context, frees today's Mendelssohn scholar to
focus more exclusively on the actual life
and music of the composer.
SIEGWART REICHWALD

Palm Beach Atlantic Colkge

The Wagners: The Dramas of a Musical Dynasty. By Nike Wagner. Translated by Ewald Osers and Michael
Downes. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
University Press, 1998. [xix, 327 p.
ISBN 0-691-08811-X. $29.95.]
Nike Wagner, one of Richard Wagner's
thirteen great-grandchildren, confirmed
her entry in the race to succeed her uncle
Wolfgang as director of the Bayreuth
Festival by publishing the German edition
of this book in 1998 (Wagner Theatre
[Frankfurt: Insel, 1998]). For the American
edition, she has brought the story of her
family up to the year 2000.
Before offering her version of the
Wagner family saga, the author offers 128
pages devoted to interpretations of the operas performed at Bayreuth-intended as
evidence, perhaps, of her fitness to produce them. In ten unrelated "program
notes" (which make almost no reference to
Wagner's music), she subjects the plots and
characters of her great-grandfather's operas to a variety of cultural and psychological interpretations. Born in 1945, Nike
Wagner holds a Ph.D. in literature from
Northwestern University. She has written
on Arthur Schnitzler and Karl Kraus, and is
interested in nineteenth- and twentietlhcentury German literature, and modern
European cultural theory. Her analyses of
Wagner's characters-and of his familydepend heavily on Freudian theory.
The most interesting of these essays are
the two devoted to Der Ring des Nibelungen,
in which she concentrates on three
episodes of either physical or "psychic" incest: between Siegmund and Sieglinde,
Wotan and Bruannhilde, and Siegfried and
his aunt Bruinnhilde whom Siegfried regards (in Nike's reading) as both mother
and lover. This Freudian focus illuminates
the troubling, rhapsodic power of their
scenes together, which (the author posits)
allowed the composer to translate blissful,
unstable moments of god-into-man transcendance into music of sublimely sensuous if unfulfilled longing.
Even more to the point of this book is
her concluding assessment of Wotan, which
one cannot help but also read as her assessment of her uncle, Wolfgang Wagner.

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TITLE: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

SOURCE: Notes 58 no4 Je 2002
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