 Mendelssohn was a noted conductor , both of his own works and of other composers . At his London debut in 1829 , he was noted for his innovatory use of a baton ( then a great novelty ) . But his novelty also extended to taking great care over tempo , dynamics and the orchestral players themselves – both rebuking them when they were recalcitrant and praising them when they satisfied him . It was his success at conducting at the Lower Rhine music festival of 1836 that led to him taking his first paid professional position as director at Düsseldorf . Amongst those who appreciated Mendelssohn 's conducting was Hector Berlioz , who in 1843 , invited to Leipzig , exchanged batons with Mendelssohn , writing " When the Great Spirit sends us to hunt in the land of souls , may our warriors hang our tomahawks side by side at the door of the council chamber " . At Leipzig , Mendelssohn led the Gewandhaus orchestra to great heights ; although concentrating on the great composers of the past ( already becoming canonised as the ' classics ' ) he also included new music by Schumann , Berlioz , Gade and many others ( including of course his own music ) . One critic who was not impressed however was Richard Wagner ; he accused Mendelssohn of using tempos in his performances of Beethoven symphonies that were far too fast . 
