(1809-1847)
If you were to go into the woods and hear the rustling of the leaves,
the singing of the birds, and the babbling of the brook over the stones,
could you come home and describe these things by playing on the piano?
Without saying anything, could you tell your mother what you heard?
Could you make the piano talk for you? Could you make it babble as the
brook did? Could you make it sing the songs of the birds?
[Illustration: FELIX MENDELSSOHN]
There once lived a child in Germany who could do all this. His name was
Felix Mendelssohn. He loved to go into the woods. When he returned, he
would go straight to the piano. At such times his sister Fanny loved to
hear him play. When he had finished, she would say, "Oh, Felix, did a
bird sing like that to-day?"
[Illustration: _Poetzelberger_