Carl Friedrich Zelter

Carl Friedrich Zelter (born Dec. 11, 1758, Berlin—died May 15, 1832, Berlin) was a composer and conductor, and the composition teacher of the young Felix Mendelssohn. Before age 9, Mendelssohn became Zelter’s pupil; and it was through Zelter’s discovery of the almost forgotten score of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion that Mendelssohn, at 20, conducted a performance of that work, which helped lead to a revival of interest in Bach’s music. Zelter set to music some poems of his friend Goethe and composed various sacred and secular vocal works.