New essays on the Mendelssohns and their circle, illuminating their lives, works, and influence. Perspectives on Mendelssohn presents newly commissioned essays by a group of distinguished international music historians on the Mendelssohns' life, work, and influence on their contemporaries. In four sections, the book addresses Felix Mendelssohn's works and their reception by contemporary critics, Fanny Mendelssohn's works, and the circle of composers and performers who were influenced by them both. Among the essays are Douglass Seaton's discussion of Felix Mendelssohn's aesthetics, Leon Botstein's examination of the shadow of "German guilt" that has colored Mendelssohn's critical reception, Anna Harwell Celenza's discussion of Mendelssohn's presence in popular American music and film during the early twentieth century, Marcia J. Citron's discussion of Fanny Mendelssohn's lieder, and Katharina Uhde’s essay on Joseph Joachim. Many of these essays feature close analysis of musical examples from key works by these composers. This volume will appeal to serious listeners, musicologists, and students of the history and reception of the Romantic musical era.