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Donald Macleod explores Mendelssohn’s second visit to London in 1832, when he happily moved back into his lodgings at 103 Great Portland Street, picked up with old acquaintances, and became a professional composer.

Mendelssohn’s relationship with Britain began when he was 20 years old, when London became the first stop of his Grand Tour. This week Donald Macleod explores the composer's experiences in Britain, considering the mark he left on musical life in these islands, the works he wrote here, and what he got up to in the course of the ten visits he made across his lifetime. Mendelssohn took inspiration from the scenery, but he also got his first professional engagements in Britain, and in return, by the end of his life, Britain lionized him.

Each visit to Britain that Mendelssohn made saw a step-change in his status as a composer. He made his second visit to London when he was still only in his early twenties, but it would cement his position with some major commissions.

Songs without Words op 19b No 3
Ronald Brautigam, piano

Hebrides Overture
London Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado, conductor

Piano Concerto No 1 in G minor (Mvts 2 & 3)
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Jan Lisiecki, piano

Songs Without Words op 19b (Nos 2, 5, 6)
Andras Schiff, piano

Symphony No 4 in A major 'Italian' (Mvts 3 & 4)
London Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado, conductor