The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra was officially founded under this name in 1781, but the orchestra's roots date back to the fifteenth century. The term Gewandhaus, which translates as "cloth hall," points to the fact that the city’s orchestra originally played in the medieval warehouse and sales hall of guilds active in the cloth trade. The concert depicted here took place during the tenure of principal conductor Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1847), who turned the Gewandhaus Orchestra into a first-rate ensemble and thereby transformed Leipzig into one of Europe’s leading musical centers. Wood engraving by an unknown artist, 1845.