public recital which was continued by his successors down into the early 20th century. Arias or ballads from the English opera became concert standards in recital. The Irish composer and virtuoso pianist John Field (1782–1837) was highly influential in his style of playing, inventing the nocturne and he is thought to have been an inspiration to Schumann, Chopin and Liszt. Perhaps the most influential composer of the first half of the 19th century was the German Felix Mendelssohn, who visited Britain ten times for a total of twenty months from 1829. He won a strong following through the Philharmonic Society, sufficient for him to make a deep impression on British musical life. Not only did he compose and perform, but he also edited for British publishers the first critical editions of oratorios of Handel and of the organ music of J. S. Bach. Scotland inspired two of his most famous works, the overture Fingal's Cave (also known as the Hebrides Overture) and the Scottish Symphony (Symphony No. 3). His oratorio Elijah was premièred in Birmingham at the Triennial Music Festival on August 26, 1846. On his last visit to England in 1847 he was the soloist in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 and conducted his own Scottish Symphony with the Philharmonic Orchestra before Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. A number of British piano students of promise were sent to the Leipzig Conservatory established by Mendelssohn. British musical renaissance 1860-1918 Classical music has been seen as undergoing a fundamental shift in focus and importance from the second half of the 19th century, as it began to search for a distinctive national identity or identities and played an increasing role in British cultural life. Performers and composers Native singers shared the dramatic stage with international stars in Italian and German opera, notably Clara Novello, Helen Lemmens-Sherrington, Sims Reeves and Charles Santley. After 1856 the Swedish born Jenny Lind, perhaps the most internationally renowned singer of the era, settled permanently in England, continuing to perform and teach. Among the most important figures in British classical music in this period was Sir William Sterndale Bennett. A RAM pupil of Potter's, he was a pianist, composer and conductor who for eleven years took control of the Philharmonic Society baton. Lucy Anderson and her pupil Arabella Goddard, with Franklin Taylor, were leading native mid-Victorian pianists. Growth of venues and orchestras This century saw the trend towards