Fanny Mendelssohn(1805 — 1847)
Fanny Mendelssohn
Hambourg
8 min read
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847) est une compositrice et pianiste virtuose allemande, sœur de Felix Mendelssohn. Malgré un talent exceptionnel reconnu dès l'enfance, les conventions de l'époque l'ont longtemps empêchée de publier ses œuvres sous son propre nom. Elle a composé plus de 460 pièces, dont des lieder, de la musique de chambre et des pièces pour piano.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Née à Hambourg en 1805 dans une famille bourgeoise cultivée d'origine juive, elle reçoit une formation musicale d'excellence aux côtés de son frère Felix.
- Son père lui déconseille explicitement une carrière publique en 1820, estimant que la musique doit rester un ornement pour une femme de sa condition.
- Plusieurs de ses lieder sont publiés sous le nom de son frère Felix dans les opus 8 et 9 (vers 1827), faute de pouvoir signer elle-même.
- Elle fonde et dirige les Sonntagsmusiken, des concerts dominicaux privés très courus à Berlin, réunissant l'élite artistique et intellectuelle de la ville.
- Elle publie ses premières œuvres sous son propre nom en 1846, un an seulement avant sa mort brutale d'une attaque cérébrale à 41 ans.
Works & Achievements
A masterpiece by Fanny Mendelssohn, this cycle of twelve piano pieces evokes each month of the year, inspired by her stay in Italy. Long unpublished, it was rediscovered and recorded from the 1980s onwards, revealing the full richness of her Romantic musical language.
This ambitious work, published shortly before her death, is considered her musical testament. It reveals a mastery of sonata form and an expressive depth comparable to the finest pages of Romantic chamber music.
A large choral cantata composed by Fanny for the Sonntagsmusiken. She herself conducted the choir and orchestra, asserting her talent as a composer and ensemble conductor in a repertoire traditionally reserved for men.
The first collection published under the name Fanny Hensel, it contains songs for voice and piano of great poetic sensitivity. Its publication represents a major symbolic act of emancipation for a woman composer of the 19th century.
A chamber music work of remarkable formal ambition for a composer self-taught in the genre. Remaining in manuscript until its posthumous publication, it bears witness to the diversity and depth of Fanny's output.
A collection of lieder for solo voice or vocal ensemble, published just before her death. These intimate melodies reflect the domestic and poetic world in which Fanny lived and created.
Anecdotes
Fanny Mendelssohn was considered by her own father to be the more musically gifted of the two Mendelssohn children, yet he forbade her from pursuing a career. In a letter from 1820, Abraham Mendelssohn wrote to her that music must remain an 'ornament' for her, while for her brother Felix it would be a 'profession'. This injustice perfectly illustrates the obstacles that talented women had to overcome in the 19th century.
Some of the melodies published under Felix Mendelssohn's name were in fact composed by Fanny. Queen Victoria, a great admirer of these lieder, once asked Felix which was his favorite piece among those she had performed — he had to admit that the piece the Queen had chosen had been written by his sister. Fanny thus remained in the shadows, even when her genius was being celebrated.
For many years, Fanny organized the famous 'Sonntagsmusiken' (Sunday Musics) at the family villa in Berlin. These private concerts brought together as many as two hundred guests, among them composers, poets, and intellectuals from across Europe. Fanny performed, conducted, and presented her own compositions there, creating a true musical salon that influenced Berlin's cultural life.
Fanny did not publish her compositions under her own name until the age of forty, in 1846, despite the persistent opposition of her brother Felix. This collection of lieder was received with enthusiasm by critics. She died less than a year after this first publication, struck down by a stroke during a rehearsal. Felix, shattered by grief, followed her in death six months later.
Fanny Mendelssohn composed more than 460 works over the course of her life, including a piano trio, a string quartet, cantatas, and more than 250 lieder. For a long time, these scores lay buried in the family archives. It was not until the 1980s that musicologists began to rediscover and record her work, finally restoring to her the place she deserves in the history of Romantic music.
Primary Sources
I must tell you that I am happy to have finally dared to publish. The critics are benevolent, and I feel that I have done something right for myself, whatever may come.
Music will perhaps not become your profession, as it has for your brother Felix, but it can and must adorn your life, and remain for you a precious ornament.
Today I conducted my Easter Cantata before a large audience. I have never felt such satisfaction. I am a composer, and no one can take that away from me.
My sister is a far better musician than I am, and I still learn from her every time we work together.
Key Places
Family home where Fanny spent most of her life and organized the Sonntagsmusiken. This private musical salon was one of the most influential cultural centers in Berlin during the 1830s–1840s.
Fanny Mendelssohn's birthplace, born on November 14, 1805 into a cultured Jewish family. Hamburg was at the time a major commercial and cultural hub of the German-speaking world.
Fanny stayed here with her painter husband from 1839 to 1840. This trip to Italy was a period of great creativity: she composed the cycle Das Jahr there and met numerous European artists.
Felix Mendelssohn's city, where he founded the Conservatory in 1843. Fanny visited on several occasions to see her brother and attend concerts at the Gewandhaus.
Fanny received piano lessons here from pianist Marie Bigot in 1816. Paris was at the time the musical capital of Europe, frequented by Chopin, Liszt, and the great Romantic virtuosos.
