Comparing Mendelssohn 'And' A Midsummer Night's Dream

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One interesting fact regarding Mendelssohn and Shakespear is that growing up, Mendelssohn was a big man of Shakespeare's work, but it took him about 17 years to finish the whole composition. Originally this particular piece was composed for two piano, but soon after he decided to rearranged it into orchestra version and finished all the other movements through the composition, this piece have soon become one of the most important pieces that is best represent Mendelssohn's work and inspired many other great composers. One of the most important movements in Mendelssohn's work is the scherzo. Philip Huscher says “..the incidental music includes some of Mendelssohn's loveliest and most enduring work, even though it is rarely performed in conjunction with the play it was designed to accompany. The breathtaking scherzo that introduces Shakespear's second act – and transports us to Shakespear's fairy world – is the most celebrated example of the featherlight, will-of-the-wisp style for which Mendelssohn is known...”1 (Huscher). It shows that in order to let the listener hear the difference between the fairy and human world, Mendelssohn understand how to react to the music naturally and push for lister's perspective towards music. Through listening to the music, how Mendelssohn start this the Midsummer Night's Dream also reminded me a little bit like Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade.

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