By Barry Lenson
We just lately profiled Clara Schumann, a supremely gifted composer who was married to Robert Schumann. Immediately, we want to flip our consideration to Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, one other astonishingly proficient lady composer who stood within the shadow of a well-known man.
In Fanny’s occasion, the person who solid an obscuring shadow over her was her brother Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847). And it was an immense shadow. Felix was not solely one of many biggest composers of the Romanic period, he was nothing in need of a miracle. Consider his Octet, his incidental music for A Midsummer Evening’s Dream, his chamber music, his symphonies, his piano music, his oratorios . . . what sort of human can write music like his? And write all of it earlier than he died on the age of thirty-eight.
But even alongside a colossus like Felix, Fanny holds her personal. Had she lived in an period when ladies weren’t so marginalized, and had she not died on the age of 41, she might need loved the popularity and respect she deserved.
However at the moment, we are going to strike one small blow in her favor. We are able to’t right practically two centuries of neglect in at some point, however collectively, we are able to uncover extra of the great music composed by this exceptional lady.
About Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel
Fanny Mendelssohn (who took the identify Mendelssohn-Hensel after her marriage in 1829) was born on November 14, 1805, in Hamburg, Germany. She was the eldest of 4 youngsters in a distinguished Jewish household. Her mom was the granddaughter of the thinker Moses Mendelssohn. (Notice that because of social norms noticed by some German Jews on the time, the Mendelssohn youngsters and their mother and father had been baptized and have become Lutherans in 1816.)
Fanny confirmed prodigious musical expertise. She obtained her first piano classes from her mom and later studied beneath Carl Friedrich Zelter, an essential composer in his personal proper. Regardless of her expertise, she shunned performing publicly or selling her personal compositions. A lot of her first works had been printed beneath her brother’s identify. In 1829, she married the artist Wilhelm Hensel.
Fanny continued to compose and carry out in non-public settings. It wasn’t till 1846 that she printed a group of songs beneath her personal identify. She handed away from a stroke on Might 14, 1847, on the age of 41. Her brother Felix was devastated and died solely six months later, on the age of 38.
Legacy
Fanny Mendelssohn’s works have gained rising recognition lately, revealing her vital contributions to the musical panorama of the Romantic period. Her compositions embrace a string quartet, a piano trio, greater than 125 items for the piano, and greater than 250 songs.
Chosen Works by Fanny Mendelssohn on Classical Archives*
Songs
Eichendorff-Lieder (six track settings of poems by Joseph von Eichendorff)
Piano Works
Six Songs for Piano Op. 4 and 5
Chamber Music
Choral Works
Oratorio on Scenes from the Bible, for soloists, refrain, and orchestra
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