Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy by Werner Stein, 1892
(Replica by Christian Schulze, 2008) Dittrichring
Leipzig, September 2024
“The Mendelssohn Memorial, located near the west portal of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, honors the composer and former Leipzig Gewandhaus Kapellmeister and founder of the Conservatory of Music, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. It was erected in 2008 as a faithful replica of the monument that stood from 1892 to 1936 in front of the second Gewandhaus, known as the Neues Concerthaus, in the Music Quarter. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy stands as a 2.8-meter-tall bronze ‘Gründerzeit figure with a toga’ on a stepped granite base. The upper part of the base is made of red Meissen granite, the two lower steps are made of gray granite. The total height of the monument is 6.8 meters. Mendelssohn holds a roll of music in his left hand and, standing in front of a music stand, a baton in his right, an indication that he was the first conductor in the modern sense. At Mendelssohn's feet, the muse of music, Euterpe, sits on the steps, leaning on a lyre. Two angels playing music are grouped on either side, the one on the left singing, the one on the right playing the flute and violin. The pedestal bears the composer's name on the front and the inscription ‘Only the noblest thing can proclaim the language of tones’ on the back. On the left side of the pedestal, an organ in a bronze medallion symbolizes sacred music ; on the right side, masks, a vase with a dance scene, flutes, and a sword represent secular music.” (Mendelssohn Memorial, Wikipedia)
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