Felix Mendelssohn was only 17 years old—and 6 months—when, in August of 1926, he completed his remarkable Overture to a Midsummer Night's Dream, after reading a German translation of the Shakespeare comedy. Written as a concert overture and not associated particular production of the play, the Overture represents one of the most verdant blossomings of youthful genius in all of music, leading music scholar George Grove to call it "the greatest marvel of early maturity that the world has ever seen in music." Truly, it is one of the miracles of classical music. Another is the fact that 16 years after he wrote the overture, he would perfectly re-capture the spirit and mood of his youthful masterpiece, when, on a commission from King Frederick William IV of Prussia, Mendelssohn, building on his early Overture, would write further incidental music to the Shakespeare classic for a performance at Potsdam on October 14, 1843.
On this afternoon's Classical Music with Foley Schuler, we'll hear both the Overture and Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream (including, among other highlights, the first appearance of the now ubiquitous "Wedding March") in honor of the anniversary of its premiere—and, in final hour, several works (for both the concert hall and the silver screen) featuring the early electronic instrument known as the Ondnes Martenot, on the anniversary of the birth of the instrument's inventor, Maurice Martenot.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music—every weekday afternoon from 1 until 4 on Blue Lake Public Radio.
