In print for nearly fifty years and based on Philip Radcliffe's exceptionally wide knowledge of the Classical and Romantic repertoires, this 'life and works' of Mendelssohn has been periodically updated to incorporate modern research on the composer. In the second half of the twentieth-century Mendelssohn studies have ranged from his intellectual and social background to his attitude to Bach, Handel, and other earlier composers. His formative years have come under scrutiny, as well as his relationship with his sister Fanny, who has attracted interest as a musician in her own right. Of crucial importance to scholars has been the re-emergence in Krakow of the large number of Mendelssohn manuscripts considered lost since their removal from Berlin for safekeeping during World War II. Thanks to this discovery, virtually all the composer's manuscripts are once again available for study. Peter Ward Jones took account of all these developments in revising the text and appendices for this (1990) edition.
