More on Fanny Mendelssohn

Portrait of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, 1842
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

I find it very interesting that Felix Mendelssohn, Fanny’s younger brother, did not really work to encourage her to bring her own music to the attention of the public.  Instead, he allowed her to publish some of her songs under his name, a tactic that seriously backfired when at one point Queen Victoria chose a favorite song to sing which she wanted Felix to accompany.  It was then Felix had to confess the song was actually written by his sister.

If there is a silver lining to Fanny having to constantly hide her own talent however, it is the fact that by not having her work acknowledged she was able to compose without having to worry about satisfying anyone but herself.

According to writer Jessica Duchen, who interviewed Fanny’s great-great-great granddaughter Sheila Hayman, “While Felix had to please everybody with very public compositions, Fanny, needing to please only herself, could write literally whatever she liked.” 

I’m sure this makes her compositions more musically authentic, as she never had to write on the basis of what she thought would appeal to a certain audience.

Still, as you will discover in another blog post, Fanny would not be without her own share of celebrity, which is believed to have influenced her writing of Das Jahr.  

See you soon.

Tap an icon below to share this blog on social media, email, or your favorite messaging app.