Unity in Variety

This Festschrift celebrates the great Mendelssohn scholar R. Larry Todd, Arts & Sciences Professor at Duke University, whose dedication to, study of, and mentorship in 19th-century music has shaped two generations of musicological study. Encompassing former/current students and colleagues, the contributing authors to this book investigate the life and work of the Mendelssohns, their circle, and issues of reception history; Beethoven and piano-related studies; and special musical relationships. The book’s title references a famous quote made by Felix Mendelssohn: “The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety.” It also acknowledges the thematic diversity of this volume and the unifying effect that Todd’s outstanding monographs on Felix and Fanny have had on a variety of musicians and scholars.

Anna Harwell Celenza is a professor at Johns Hopkins University. Her first two books, „The Early Works of Niels W. Gade" and „Hans Christian Andersen and Music", grew out of her graduate work with R. Larry Todd. Her essay in this volume relates to her forthcoming book „On the Record: Music that Changed America".