- Mendelssohn recorded that he had his first idea for this overture on August 7, 1829, while looking at the Hebrides Islands from Oban on the western coast of Scotland.
- The next day, Mendelssohn sailed to the Hebrides, saw Fingal’s Cave on the isle of Staffa, and visited Iona.
- Mendelssohn had a long visit in the British Isles in 1829. He spent the first several months in London, conducting and playing the piano during the spring concert season. He also spent his time soaking up British culture, visiting famous sites and famous musicians, watching Shakespeare plays, and studying Handel scores.
- Mendelssohn completed the first draft of the Hebrides Overture in Rome in 1830. At the time, he called it “Overture to a Lonely Island” and planned to give it to his father for a birthday present. (The was the first of several titles the overture would have over the course of its life.)
- The overture premiered on May 14, 1832, in a concert by the Philharmonic Society in London. At this point, the overture’s title was The Isles of Fingal.
- In 1830, and June of 1832, the overture was billed as The Hebrides.1
Sources
- R. Larry Todd, “Mendelssohn(-Bartholdy), (Jacob Ludwig) Felix,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed March 23, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051795.
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