Unity in Variety

Book excerpt: This Festschrift celebrates the great Mendelssohn scholar R. Larry Todd, Arts & Sciences Professor at Duke University, whose dedication to, study of, and mentorship in 19th-century music has shaped two generations of musicological study. Encompassing former/current students and colleagues, the contributing authors to this book investigate the life and work of the Mendelssohns, their circle, and issues of reception history; Beethoven and piano-related studies; and special musical relationships. The book's title references a famous quote by Felix Mendelssohn: "The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety." It also acknowledges the thematic diversity of this volume and the unifying effect that Todd's outstanding monographs on Felix and Fanny have had on a variety of musicians and scholars.