Felix Mendelssohn

As a child, he studied with Berger, Zelter and Bigot (Hummel also taught him). Zelter took the 12-year-old to visit Goethe, the start of a 9-year friendship, while Humboldt and Hegel were regular family visitors. Robert Schumann became a friend when Mendelssohn moved to Leipzig, where he also engaged as performers Clara Schumann (a close friend and admirer to whom he dedicated some pieces), Thalberg and Moscheles (an old family friend). He met Hiller in Paris and Berlioz in Rome, and played duets with Thorvaldsen in his studio. His friend Gade stood in for him in Leipzig, and he stayed with Attwood in London.