The Dallas Goethe Center Inc. will be sponsoring a lecture titled “Goethe’s Mendelssohn, Mendelssohn’s Goethe” which will take place 8 p.m. Friday.

The lecture will be held in the private residence of the Weinkauff Family at 6542 Turner Way in Dallas.

Goethe is one of the most famous German artists, best known for his poetry and literature. Mendelssohn is a famous German composer and conductor. Both men lived and worked in the mid-19th century.

The lecture will consist of three parts. First, there will be a summary and short chronology of the personal and artistic relationship between Goethe and Mendelssohn. Next, how Goethe viewed Mendelssohn and his work will be discussed. Finally, speakers will discuss the artistic and personal profile between the two men that was cultivated between 1835 and 1847 and how it affected the development of their works.

Dr. Carol Reynolds of SMU and Dr. Michael Cooper of UNT will speak at the lecture. Reynolds is a professor of music at SMU. She is also the co-director of SMU’s international program to Weimar, Germany.

Cooper is an author and has written several books on Mendelssohn, one of his specialties.

The Dallas Goethe Center Inc. was founded in 1965 by Gershon Canaan, a German refugee of Jewish faith, after he came to the United States to escape persecution in Germany. He founded the center in hopes of fostering a better relationship between Germany and the United States through the understanding of German language, literature and art.

“In these times of strained relationships between the U.S. and Germany, coming to this lecture would help people understand the language, music and culture of Germany,” said Barbara Wolf, a member of the Dallas Goethe Center’s board of directors.

To attend the lecture, RSVP to Wolf at 214.264.6343 or [email protected]. Reservations are required because space is limited.

To find out more about the Dallas Goethe Center Inc., go to www.dallasgoethecenter.org or call (214) 352-4646.