The Study On Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.2 "kantata Lobgesang"

Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847), famous as the composer of Germany, isone of the outstanding representatives in period of romantic music. He began tolearn music in his childhood and showed considerable talent. Thanks to his parents,he makes friends with lots of famous persons, which enables him to have uniqueperspectives on philosophy and literature.Mendelssohn grows up in an environment surrounded by cultural atmosphere,which enriches his inner world; besides, he likes traveling around to enjoy beautifulscenery, which stimulates his creation inspiration. Thus, he wrote<Symphony No. 3“Schottische”> (Op.56,1841—1842) and <Symphony No.4“Italienische”>(Op.90,1834—1837), telling the beautiful scenery that he has enjoyed in the trip.Perhaps this is the only way to express his inner world. Mendelssohn wrote 5symphonies throughout his life. The author of this thesis is going to study the<Symphony No. 2“Lobgesang”>(Op. 52,1840). This thesis includes three parts:Firstly, introducing Mendelssohn’s family and his growing environment as well astheir influence on him. Secondly, describing the composing background of<Symphony No. 2“Lobgesang”>. Thirdly, analyzing the techniques of expressionand composition of<SymphonyNo.2“Lobgesang”>in detail. Finally, the significanceof Mendelssohn’s symphonies will be revealed. Many scholars have carried outstudies on Mendelssohn’s <Symphony No.3“Schottische”>and<Symphony No.4“Italienische”>, but most of them just focus on the structure and melody. The currentstudy is going to analyze the<Symphony No. 2“Lobgesang”>comprehensively fromboth music structure and culture. Three methods are adopted in the study, namely,analysis method, literature method and exemplification. Through analyzingMendelssohn’s symphonies, the author aims to find out the most representativeworks and try to explore the generality and individuality among them. Apart from it,approaches to music will be employed to analyze the structure, tonality, harmony,rhythm and color. Moreover, some examples and tables will be listed to describe theauthor’s views.