Fanny Mendelssohn, classical music composer

Fanny Mendelssohn

Biography

The elder sibling of Felix Mendelssohn, Fanny Cäcille Mendelssohn was born on November 14th, 1805. Fanny benefited from the same musical upbringing as her younger brother. Their composition teacher Carl Friedrich Zelter, who later helped Felix revive Bach's St. Matthew Passion, actually favored Fanny over her brother. Visitors to the Mendelssohn home were equally impressed by the two musical siblings. Despite her prodigious talents, however, she was held back by the prevailing attitudes of the time towards women. Her father, Abraham Mendelssohn, at best was accepting of Fanny's talents as a composer and pianist but offered no support. Felix, on the other hand, was in private very supportive of his sister's musical activities and had some of her music published under his name, albeit with some reservations.

As a pianist, Fanny made only one known public performance as a pianist, performing her brother's Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1838. In 1846, she published a collection of songs under her own name as her opus 1. The following year, however, she suffered a stroke during a rehearsal of Felix's oratorio First Walpurgis Night and died on May 14th.

Fanny Mendelssohn composed over 400 pieces during her lifetime. Many of her compositions for piano bear the title Lied ohne Worte ("Song Without Words"), a style made popular by her brother. Indeed, it is possible that the idea originated with Fanny. However, during her lifetime, Fanny's music was little known though in recent years her music has benefited from greater interest, performances and recordings.


Composer Title Date Action
Fanny Mendelssohn Allegro molto in c minor 01/10/2009 Play Add to playlist
Fanny Mendelssohn Schluss 01/14/2009 Play Add to playlist