Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Foundation

The Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Foundation is an independent German not-for-profit foundation based in the Mendelssohn House in Leipzig, the residence where Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy lived during the 1840s. Its work combines cultural heritage preservation, music scholarship, public education, concert programming, and support for musical talent. The foundation is closely associated with the Mendelssohn House and Mendelssohn Museum, and its institutional purpose is centered on the international study and cultivation of Mendelssohn’s artistic and social legacy. The organization was initially established in 2003 as a fiduciary foundation. Its legal and organizational form changed substantially in 2012, when Leipzig’s municipal authorities worked with the already registered Mendelssohn House International Mendelssohn Foundation to create an independent foundation governed according to civil law. The constitution for the restructured foundation was prepared on 28 November 2011. Leipzig’s financial and legal participation was approved at a city council meeting on 18 July 2012, and the new arrangements were accepted by the relevant German foundations supervisory authority on 28 August 2012. The foundation’s responsibilities include administering and operating the Mendelssohn Museum in the Mendelssohn House and the associated carriage house. The museum presents the composer’s life, work, Leipzig connections, and broader cultural environment. The foundation also supports research projects, including the Mendelssohn Complete Output project of the Saxonian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Its public-facing activities include issuing publications and organizing concerts, thereby connecting academic research with performance and visitor education. Education is another central part of the foundation’s remit. Its constitutional objectives call for the encouragement of musical training and education in a way consistent with Mendelssohn’s own institutional legacy. In Leipzig, Mendelssohn founded Germany’s first music conservatory, now known as the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig. The foundation’s educational orientation therefore extends beyond commemoration: it presents Mendelssohn as a composer, conductor, educator, and cultural institution builder. The foundation awards the International Mendelssohn Prize Leipzig and may provide scholarships to exceptionally talented artists. The prize connects the institution to the continuing musical history of Leipzig and the Gewandhaus Orchestra, where Mendelssohn served as Gewandhauskapellmeister. Kurt Masur, a later chief conductor of the orchestra and a prominent supporter of the foundation and its predecessor organizations, received the first International Mendelssohn Prize in 2007 and served as the foundation’s president. A major practical focus has been the rescue, restoration, and professional operation of the Mendelssohn House. The property was acquired in 1993 by a predecessor organization, and the foundation later assumed responsibility for its continued use as a museum and cultural site. By February 2014, the foundation had invested approximately €1.5 million in improving the museum’s displays and exhibits. The foundation’s role consequently spans heritage management, scholarship, cultural programming, and the presentation of Mendelssohn’s legacy to international visitors and contemporary musicians.

The foundation’s institutional history is rooted in efforts to preserve Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Leipzig residence and develop it as a center for public remembrance, research, and musical culture. The Mendelssohn House, where the composer lived during the 1840s, was acquired in 1993 by a predecessor organization. The property subsequently became the setting for the Mendelssohn Museum and related cultural activities. In 2003, the Mendelssohn Foundation was established as a fiduciary foundation. This initial form was later replaced by a more independent legal structure. The reorganization was prepared through a constitution dated 28 November 2011 and completed in 2012 through cooperation between Leipzig’s municipal authorities and the registered Mendelssohn House International Mendelssohn Foundation. Leipzig’s city council agreed to the city’s financial and legal participation on 18 July 2012. The German foundations supervisory authority accepted the new arrangements on 28 August 2012. From that point, the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Foundation operated as an independent not-for-profit foundation governed according to civil law. The restructured foundation incorporated responsibility for the Mendelssohn House, the Mendelssohn Museum, and the museum site at Goldschmidtstraße 12. Its constitutional objectives emphasize international research and the cultivation of Mendelssohn’s artistic and social inheritance. They also reflect the composer’s role in musical education. Mendelssohn founded Germany’s first music conservatory in Leipzig, an institution that now bears his name as the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig. Museum development has been a significant part of the foundation’s work. By February 2014, approximately €1.5 million had been invested in improving the museum’s displays and exhibits. The foundation also operates the carriage house associated with the residence and uses the site as a venue for presenting Mendelssohn’s life and work. Beyond the museum, the foundation supports musicological research, including the Mendelssohn Complete Output project of the Saxonian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. It publishes material, organizes concerts, awards the International Mendelssohn Prize Leipzig, and may grant scholarships to artists of exceptional talent. These activities place the foundation between a traditional memorial institution and an active cultural organization: it preserves a historic site while supporting contemporary performance, scholarship, and artistic development. The foundation’s leadership has included conductor Kurt Masur, who was both a successor to Mendelssohn as chief conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and an important figure in the work of the foundation and its predecessor organizations. Masur received the first International Mendelssohn Prize in Leipzig in 2007 and served as the foundation’s president. The supervisory board has been chaired by Burkhard Jung, Leipzig’s lord mayor. The foundation remains based at the Mendelssohn House and continues to combine museum administration, research, education, performance, and cultural commemoration.

• 2014

  Museum improvements reported

  [1]Mendelssohn Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  By February 2014, the foundation had invested approximately €1.5 million in improving the Mendelssohn Museum’s displays and exhibits.

• 2012

  Foundation becomes an independent civil-law foundation

  [1]Mendelssohn Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Following Leipzig’s municipal participation and supervisory approval, the foundation adopted its independent not-for-profit legal form.

• 2011

  Constitution of the restructured foundation drawn up

  [1]Mendelssohn Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The constitution for the foundation’s later independent legal structure was prepared on 28 November 2011.

• 2007

  First International Mendelssohn Prize Leipzig awarded

  [1]Mendelssohn Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The first International Mendelssohn Prize in Leipzig was awarded to conductor Kurt Masur.

• 2003

  Foundation established as a fiduciary foundation

  [1]Mendelssohn Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The Mendelssohn Foundation was initially created as a fiduciary foundation.

• 1993

  Mendelssohn House acquired by a predecessor organization

  [1]Mendelssohn Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  A predecessor organization acquired the Mendelssohn House, establishing the institutional basis for its later development as a museum and cultural center.

A cultural-heritage and music-education foundation that preserves the Mendelssohn House, advances research on Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and connects historical scholarship with concerts, publications, museum interpretation, and support for emerging artists.

• Museum and cultural heritage site

  Mendelssohn Museum

  Located in the Mendelssohn House in Leipzig, the museum presents the composer’s life, artistic work, Leipzig years, and cultural environment. It is a central public-facing activity of the foundation and has undergone substantial improvements to its displays and exhibits. The museum operates alongside the historic residence and associated carriage house, linking conservation of place with interpretation, education, and musical heritage.

• Cultural award · 2007

  International Mendelssohn Prize Leipzig

  An award administered by the foundation to recognize contributions connected with Mendelssohn’s musical and cultural legacy. The first prize was presented in 2007 to conductor Kurt Masur, whose career was closely associated with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and whose work also connected him with the foundation.

• Musicological research support

  Mendelssohn Complete Output project

  A scholarly project supported by the foundation and associated with the Saxonian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Its purpose is to advance the systematic study and publication of Mendelssohn’s complete musical output, supporting the foundation’s wider objective of international research into the composer’s artistic inheritance.

• 2012

  Conversion to an independent foundation under civil lawStrategy

  Background

  The foundation had originally operated as a fiduciary foundation established in 2003. Leipzig’s municipal authorities and the Mendelssohn House International Mendelssohn Foundation developed a new institutional arrangement to place the organization on an independent legal footing.

  Action taken

  A new constitution was prepared, Leipzig agreed to financial and legal participation, and the foundation incorporated responsibility for the Mendelssohn House, Mendelssohn Museum, and related museum site.

  Aftermath

  The German foundations supervisory authority accepted the arrangement on 28 August 2012, establishing the foundation as an independent not-for-profit foundation governed according to civil law.

  Source

1. 1Mendelssohn Foundationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Foundation official websitemendelssohn-stiftung.de