The Mendelssohn on Mull Festival is an annual festival of chamber music. It is held at various venues on the Scottish islands of Mull and Iona and the surrounding area.
The festival was founded in 1988 by Leonard Friedman. Since Friedman's death it has been directed by Levon Chilingirian (2003–2016) and the Doric String Quartet (from 2018). Since 2019, the festival has been held in September. [1]
The festival takes its name from a visit by the composer Felix Mendelssohn to Scotland in 1829. Although only twenty years old, Mendelssohn was already an established composer and conductor. The natural beauty of Scotland and its rich history of fact and fable delighted the young composer and inspired his Hebrides overture and Symphony No. 3, Scottish. [2]
Mendelssohn stayed in Tobermory on Mull en route to Staffa where he visited Fingal's Cave. The concert overture known both as The Hebrides and as Fingal's Cave was composed shortly after his visit, and was originally entitled "The Lonely Island". Mendelssohn sent a postcard to his family with the opening phrase of the overture written on it. In a note to his sister, Fanny Mendelssohn he said: "In order to make you understand how extraordinarily the Hebrides affected me, I send you the following, which came into my head there." [3]
The festival that now bears his name was conceived as a musical pilgrimage in commemoration of Mendelssohn's visit. [4]
The festival was founded in 1988 by the violinist Leonard Friedman, as a week of music-making, concentrating on string chamber music, where the participants were a blend of established professionals and students, at which audiences were welcome at no cost. [5]
Following Friedman's death in 1994, the festival has maintained this pattern with artistic direction being provided by Levon Chilingirian [6] [7] [8] (2003–2016), and the Doric String Quartet (2018 to present). [9] [10] During this time the Doric has recorded Mendelssohn's string quartets for Chandos. [11]
The festival is administered by a trust which organises the events and pays the expenses of the participants and professionals. Since 2016 the festival has been administered by Sound Waves SCIO. [12]
Overture is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were independent, self-existing instrumental, programmatic works that foreshadowed genres such as the symphonic poem. These were "at first undoubtedly intended to be played at the head of a programme".
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music, organ music and chamber music. His best-known works include the overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Italian Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, the oratorio St. Paul, the oratorio Elijah, the overture The Hebrides, the mature Violin Concerto and the String Octet. The melody for the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is also his. Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words are his most famous solo piano compositions.
Staffa is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Vikings gave it this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from vertically placed tree-logs.
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Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, known for its natural acoustics. The National Trust for Scotland owns the cave as part of a national nature reserve. It became known as Fingal's Cave after the eponymous hero of an epic poem by 18th-century Scots poet-historian James Macpherson.
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The Chilingirian Quartet is a British string quartet. It gave its first public concert in Cambridge in 1972. By the time the quartet celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, there had been various changes in the line-up. However, it has continued to be led by Levon Chilingirian.
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The Doric String Quartet is based in the UK and was formed in 1998. As of 2023, the members are Alex Redington and Ying Xue on violin, Hélène Clément on viola and John Myerscough on cello. Past members include Jonathan Stone, Simon Tandree and Chris Brown. In 2008, the quartet won first prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and second prize at the "Premio Paolo Borciani" International String Quartet Competition. Their repertoire includes Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Bartók, Janáček, Korngold and Britten, as well as the work of contemporary composers such as John Adams, Thomas Adès and Brett Dean. They have given premieres of works by Dean, Peter Maxwell Davies and Donnacha Dennehy. The Doric is Teaching Quartet in Association with the Royal Academy of Music and artistic director of the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival. They have recorded for Chandos since 2009.
