Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847) was one of the most outstanding composers and conductors in the 19th century. The main work discussed in this thesis, Mendelssohn’s Violin Sonata in F Major, was composed during the period of the composer’s maturity. However, his strict self-criticism prevents this work from being published during his lifetime. This violin sonata was left unknown for years until the violinist Yehudi Menuhin rediscovered and edited the work, published in 1953 by C.F. Peters Corporation.

In 2009, this great piece was rearranged by the prominent musicologists of Bärenreiter Publishing Group and was republished. The Bärenreiter Urtext edition represents a scholarly edition of the work and provides not only the editions of both the original 1838’s edition and the incomplete revision of the first movement by Mendelssohn himself in 1839, but also a “complete” 1839’s edition accomplished by the scholars. Therefore, Bärenreiter Urtext edition is a very important reference resource for this work and also for understanding how Yehudi Menuhin’s edition is done.

The thesis presents a general analysis of this work based on Mendelssohn’s edition of 1838 provided in Bärenreiter Urtext edition. The thesis provides a detailed comparison of the complete 1838’s edition with both the unfinished revision in 1839 by Mendelssohn and Yehudi Menuhin’s edition.

This thesis contains six chapters: Chapter 1 is an introduction; Chapter 2 includes the biography of the composer, the compositional background of the violin sonata and the historical evolution of three different editions; Chapter 3 is a general analysis of the compositional structure; Chapter 4 is a comparison of the three editions; Chapter 5 is the conclusion referring to the compositional style of three movements and the different editing thoughts among editions.