The Mendelssohn on Mull Festival is an annual festival of chamber music. It is held at various venues on the Scottish islands of

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica *Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highway ...

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 Levon Chilingirian OBE (Լևոն Չիլինկիրեան born 28 May 1948) is a UK-based violinist of Armenian origin. The founder of the Chilingirian Quartet, he is also a professor and Chamber Music Artist in Residence at the Royal Academy of ...

(2003–2016) and the

Doric String Quartet The Doric String Quartet is based in the UK and was formed in 1998. As of 2022, the members are Alex Redington and Ying Xue on violin, Hélène Clément on viola and John Myerscough on cello. Past members include Jonathan Stone (violin; 1998–2018) ...

(from 2018). Since 2019, the festival has been held in September.

Name

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 ''The Hebrides'' (; german: Die Hebriden) is a concert overture that was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830, revised in 1832, and published the next year as Mendelssohn's Op. 26. Some consider it an early tone poem. It was inspired by one of ...

and Symphony No. 3, ''Scottish''. Mendelssohn stayed in Tobermory on

en route to

Staffa Staffa ( gd, Stafa, , from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island) 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 ver ...

where he visited

Fingal's Cave 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 Finga ...

. 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." The festival that now bears his name was conceived as a musical pilgrimage in commemoration of Mendelssohn's visit.

History

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. Following Friedman's death in 1994, the festival has maintained this pattern with artistic direction being provided by

(2003–2016), and the

(2018 to present). During this time the Doric has recorded Mendelssohn's

string quartets The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

for Chandos. 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.

References

External links

Mendelssohn on Mull Festival web site
{{Chamber music festivals Classical music festivals in Scotland Chamber music festivals Music festivals established in 1988 1988 establishments in Scotland Felix Mendelssohn