Donald Satz:

>Both Schumann and Mendelssohn are highly popular composers essentially
>born at the same time.  But, which composer wrote better music?:

I am not going to answer the main question, but I do have a few comments.

>Chamber Works - Not a strong suit for either composer.  Personally, I
>enjoy Schumann's works, but I can't deny that they are not very memorable.
>Mendelssohn's chamber works, including the octet, are on a par with
>Schumann's - Draw.

Didn't Mimi just sing the delights of Schumann's trios? I don't know
them, but his quintet is surely memorable.  There are few octets in the
repertoire, but Mendelssohn's is brilliant, and has some of the same kind
of "gossamer" lightness as passages in the Midsummer Night's Dream
Overture, which I don't think the work of any other composer has come
close to resembling.

>Concertos - Each composer has his "great" concerto - the remainder are
>forgettable - Draw.

I disagree that Schumann's Cello Concerto is forgettable, and it wears
extremely well.

>Symphonies - I much prefer Schumann's, but the Mendelssohn symphonies
>certainly are very popular.  Also, there are those early string symphonies
>which are nice - 1 point for Mendelssohn.

It would be interesting to see an extended comparison of the Reformation
and the Rhenish Symphonies.  The Scottish is audibly from the same period
as Schumann's.  The Italian could only be by Mendelssohn, like the Octet
and Midsummer music.  The early Mendelssohn symphonies are OK, but I could
live indefinitely without them.

>Vocal works - A healthy advantage for Schumann based on his lieder.
>Neither composer was stunning when it came to vocal works with orchestra;
>Mendelssohn's best effort was in tinkering with Bach's Passion - 2 points
>for Schumann.

I don't like oratorios, except for parts of Messiah, but don't you want to
assign a point or two for Elijah?

>the clear winner in a ten round decision is Schumann.  How did that happen?

Thumb on the scale?

Jim