Perhaps Mendelssohn’s most characteristic orchestral work is to be found in the _Midsummer Night’s Dream_ music, the oratorio of _Elijah_ and the Overture to _Melusine_. Of course, his Symphonies—the _Reformation_, which appeared in 1830, two years after Schubert’s _C-major_, the _Italian_ in 1831 and the _Scotch_ in 1842, contain beautiful work especially for the woodwind. With his suave, graceful, sunny and charming melodies, it was only natural that Mendelssohn’s instrumentation should be delicate. In the world of pictures we often turn from the deep, rich colors of Titian, Rembrandt and Velasquez to enjoy the softer hues of Chardin, Watteau and Fragonard. It is the same in music. Refreshing it is to turn from the dark, heavy colors of Beethoven, or the glowing hues of Weber and Wagner to the opalescent tints of delightful, fanciful, poetic Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn’s life was happy from beginning to end; and this joy bubbles up in his music. The world gave him much; and he gave the world much in return. Born in Hamburg in 1809, he spent his early years in Berlin, where his family removed. He had a childhood almost unparalleled in the annals of music for happiness. He conducted a little Orchestra in his father’s house every Sunday morning, where many of his early compositions were performed, among them the Overture to the _Midsummer Night’s Dream_, which he wrote when he was only seventeen. As pianist, organist, conductor and composer, Mendelssohn had one triumph after another. He made nine visits to London, where he stood next to Handel in popular affection. In 1835 he became conductor of the Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig and he established the Conservatory of Music in that city. He died in Leipzig in 1847. Mendelssohn has suffered somewhat from the high position the English have given him in music; but he has a place that is quite his own. He followed in the footsteps of Weber rather than in those of Beethoven; and, though he has no tragic depths, he has given the world lyric compositions of great beauty and the greatest oratorios since Handel’s. Mendelssohn sketched and painted well; he had a love for literature; he wrote charming letters; and he was altogether a delightful person. Mendelssohn’s orchestration is noted for _its perfect balance, its clarity and its polish_. He seems to have cared less for the brass than the other groups. His violin concerto, ranking next to Beethoven’s, shows his sympathy for the violin. The viola is also well treated in all his works. The violoncello _obbligato_ in the accompaniment to the solo “It is enough” in _Elijah_ proves that this instrument was a favorite. The clarinet passages in the _Overture to Melusine_ and the use of the horns in the _Notturno_ in _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ exhibit his poetic and romantic touch in the highest degree.