Classical music

Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847), a Romantic composer and prodigy, fell in love with the Riviera during a youthful journey. On 6 August 1831, setting out from Vevey, he climbed the Col de Jaman and came back down through Allières and Chernex, on the heights above Montreux, marvelling at the lake, the torrents and the Dents-du-Midi. “Of all the countries I know, the most beautiful is the canton of Vaud,” he wrote. An enthusiastic walker and fine draughtsman, he left admiring pages about the region. To him we owe “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, the “Italian” Symphony and the rediscovery of Bach’s “St Matthew Passion”.