Mendelssohn Piano Concertos

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) was just 20 when he paid the first of ten visits to Britain. Within a month of his arrival he was engaged to conduct a concert for the Philharmonic Society of London, but he did not confine himself to the capital. In true tourist fashion he set out with a friend to visit Scotland. In a letter home on 7th August 1829 Mendelssohn wrote: “To make you understand how extraordinarily the Hebrides affected me I send you the following which came into my head there”, notating a few bars of music which became the opening of this Overture.