By Barry Lenson
We not too long ago profiled Clara Schumann, a supremely gifted composer who was married to Robert Schumann. Right this moment, we want to flip our consideration to Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, one other astonishingly gifted lady composer who stood within the shadow of a well-known man.
In Fanny’s occasion, the person who forged 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 wanting 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 may need loved the popularity and respect she deserved.
However right this moment, we’ll strike one small blow in her favor. We will’t appropriate almost two centuries of neglect in someday, however collectively, we will uncover extra of the fantastic music composed by this exceptional lady.
About Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel
Fanny Mendelssohn (who took the title Mendelssohn-Hensel after her marriage in 1829) was born on November 14, 1805, in Hamburg, Germany. She was the eldest of 4 kids in a distinguished Jewish household. Her mom was the granddaughter of the thinker Moses Mendelssohn. (Notice that resulting from social norms noticed by some German Jews on the time, the Mendelssohn kids and their dad and mom 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 below Carl Friedrich Zelter, an necessary composer in his personal proper. Regardless of her expertise, she shunned performing publicly or selling her personal compositions. Lots of her first works had been printed below her brother’s title. In 1829, she married the artist Wilhelm Hensel.
Fanny continued to compose and carry out in personal settings. It wasn’t till 1846 that she printed a group of songs below her personal title. She handed away from a stroke on Could 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 embody 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 music 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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