Her Life and Music

Anne Thomsen Salt Lake Community College MUSC 1010 - 042

Fannys Heritage
Grandfather
Moses Mendelssohn Famous Jewish Philosopher Valued education

Father
Abraham Mendelssohn

Mother
Lea Salomon

Married December 28, 1804

Birth and Siblings

Fanny was born November 14, 1805 in

Hamburg, Germany.
Oldest child in Mendelssohn Family. Lea described her infant daughter as

having Bach-fugue fingers.

Felix was born February 3, 1809.

Rebekka was born in 1811.

Paul was born in 1813.

Move to Berlin
Napole0ns army invaded Hamburg in 1812. Abraham and Lea moved their family to Berlin.

Berlin would be Fannys home for the rest of her life.

Baptized as Lutheran
Jews were oppressed in Berlin. Leas brother had converted and taken on the name

Bartholdy.
One can remain faithful to a religion that is persecuted and oppressed; one can yoke ones children to it, as to a lifelong martyrdom as long as one considers it the sole path to salvation. But as soon as one no longer believes that, then such conduct becomes barbarous.

Abraham realized that as Christians they would have

more opportunities. The four children were baptized on March 21, 1816. They took on the name Bartholdy.

Early Musical Training

The childrens first music lessons were from their

mother. Fanny and Felix were recognized as musically gifted. On a business trip to Paris, Fanny and Felix had their first formal lessons. Piano Marie Bigot Violin Pierre Baillot

Continued Musical Education

Ludwig Berger
Piano

Carl Friedrich Zelter

Director of

Singakademie Music theory Composition

Young Musician
By age 13 Fanny was an excellent pianist.

She memorized all 24 preludes from Bachs

Well-Tempered Clavier.
Listen to Prelude #1

At 14 she composed her first known

composition: Ihr Tne, schwingt euch frhlich! At age 15 she joined the Singakademie.

Fanny and Felix

Throughout their lives Fanny and Felix would look at each

others compositions and offer comments for

improvement.

Differing Life Expectations

While Felix was encouraged to compose pieces for

concert halls Fanny found encouragement for her was waning. In 1820 Fannys father wrote to her:

Perhaps music will be his [Felixs] profession, whereas for you it can and must be an ornament, and never the fundamental bass-line of your existence and activity.
Fanny still composed over 50 pieces from 1820 to 1821.

Felixs Musical Career

Fanny remained Felixs musical advisor.

I have watched his progress step by step, and have contributed to his development. I have always been his only musical adviser and he never writes down a thought before submitting it to my judgment.
A Midsummer Nights Dream Overture Composed side by side at the piano. Felix was 16, Fanny was 19. First performed as a piano duet by the two siblings. How much influence did Fanny have?

First Publications
1827 Three of Fannys Songs were published. Heimweh, Italien, and Suleika und Hatem Based on poems by German poets. Published in a book of Felixs music under his name. 1830 Three more of Fannys songs were published under Felixs name. As a woman, it would not have been proper to publish

under her own name.

Wilhelm Hensel
Fannys future husband Met in January of 1821. Artist
Several of the pictures in this

presentation are his sketches.

Portrait of Mendelssohn Family 11 years older than Fanny. Fannys parents reluctantly gave

their consent to the marriage. Travelled to Italy for five years before wedding.

Marriage
Wilhelm returned from Italy in

1828. Fanny and Wilhelm married on October 3, 1829. Felix was unable to attend. The couple moved into the Garden house behind Fannys parents house.

Sebastian Ludwig Felix Hensel

Fannys only child
Born June 16, 1830 Named after his mothers favorite

composers.
Johann Sebastian Bach Ludwig von Beethoven Felix Mendelssohn

He wrote Die Familie Mendelssohn

Sunday Musicales
Tradition in 18th and 19th century Europe.

Private gatherings held by upper-class women.

Introduced music of Beethoven, Bach, Mozart. Premiered her own music and that of Felix.

Fannys musicales were popular.

One of Fannys musicales boasted Eight princesses Franz Liszt

Felixs Blessing to Publish

under her own name

May you have much happiness in giving pleasure to others, may you taste only the sweets and none of the bitterness of authorship; may the public pelt you with roses and never draw black lines upon your soul all of which I devoutly believe will be the case.
1846 Two sets of songs were published. Sechs Lieder (Six Songs) Vier Lieder fur das Pianoforte (Four songs for the piano) Met with great success

Death
Passed away May 14, 1847 in Berlin.
She was 41.
After hearing of her death, Felix wrote:

I have lost my best friend, ... God help us all.

Felix passed away six months later.

November 4, 1847 in Leipzig. He was buried next to his sister in Berlin.

Fannys Music
Fanny composed over 400 works during her lifetime.

Most are in manuscript form.

It is unknown how many remain in the hands of the

Mendelssohn descendants. Mostly Classical style Early Romantic elements

Ich wandelte unter den Bamen

Lied Based on poem by Goethe Composed 1838, published 1995 Soprano with piano accompaniment Two voices
Young woman
Birds

Listen

Legato Syllabic Strophic Trills Ends with melisma

Piano Trio in D Minor, Op. 11

For piano, violin, and cello.

Started in the winter of 1846.

Considered her masterpiece. First performed for her sisters birthday, April 11, 1847.

First published in 1850.

Movement 2: Andante expressivo

Slow and Lyrical A Major Ternary form: A B A Begins with piano playing Theme A Piano also begins with a repeated motif long-short-

long About 2 minutes into the piece Theme B is introduced by the piano. Theme A returns just over 3 minutes in.

Listen to the entire 2nd movement

Movement 4: Finale: allegro moderato

Rondo form D Minor Begins with a cadenza by the piano Piano then introduces Theme A Violin and Cello do not appear until a full minute into

the piece. Theme B or a bridge section about two minutes in Theme C 20 seconds later Less than a minute before the end a new theme is introduced: the main theme from the first movement. Listen to the entire 4th movement.

YouTube Links
Bachs Prelude #1 A Midsummer Nights Dream Overture
Orchestra Piano duet

Fannys Songs

Heimweh Italien Suleika und Hatem Ich wandelte unter den bamen #1 Ich wandelte unter den bamen #2 (not my favorite performance)

Piano Trio in D minor Op. 11

Movement 1: Allegro molto vivace Movement 2: Andante expressivo Sorry, I could not find Movement 3 Movement 4: Finale - allegretto moderato

Quotation Sources
Slide 3: Sandra H. Shichtman and Dorothy

Indenbaum, Gifted Sister: the Story of Fanny Mendelssohn (Greensboro, NC: Morgan Reynolds Publishing, Inc. 2007) p. 11
OR: Amadeus Press, 1996), p. 45 Slide 8 notes: Gloria Kamen. Hidden Music: The Life of Fanny Mendelssohn, (New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1996) p. 3 Slide 10: Op.cit.,Tillard, p.69 Slide 12: Op.cit., Shichtman, p. 42 Slide 16 notes: Ibid., p. 111 Slide 17: Ibid., p. 112 Slide 18: Op.cit. Kamen, p. 69

Slide 5: Franoise Tillard, Fanny Mendelssohn (Portland,

Picture Credits

Picture of Fanny, Women of Note, retrieved February 17, 2013 from http://oboeclassics.com/~oboe3583/ambache/wMendelssohn.htm Picture of Moses, Wikepedia, retrieved February 17, 2013 from http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Moses_mendelssohn.jpg Picture of Abraham Mendelssohn, Find a Grave, retrieved February 17, 2013 from http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=46517091 Picture of Lea Mendelssohn, Wikepedia, retrieved February 17, 2013 from http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:1823_Hensel_Lea_Mendelssohn.jpg Picture of Napolean, The History Onyx, retrieve February 18, 2013 from http://historyonyx.blogspot.com/2011/09/napoleon-and-reshaping-ofeurope.html Berlin Map circa 1836, Old Print Gallery, retrieved February 18, 2013 from http://oldprintgallery.wordpress.com/tag/berlin/ Picture of Marie Bigot, AllMusic, retrieved February 18, 2013 from http://www.allmusic.com/album/music-by-maria-hester-park-marie-bigotand-fanny-mendelsshon-hensel-mw0001836383 Picture of Pierre Baillot, Prone to Violins, retrieved February 18, 2013 from http://pronetoviolins.blogspot.com/2009/10/baillot.html Picture of Ludwig Berger, Wikepedia, retrieved February 18, 2013 from http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Berger_%28Komponist%29 Picture of Carl Friedrich Zelter, retrieved February 18, 2013 from http://www.hoasm.org/XID/Zelter.html Picture of Singakademie, retrieved February 18, 2013 from http://www.mgv-bleckenstedt.de/minf/inf-t130.html Picture of Fanny and Felix, Talkin About Fanny, retrieved February 18, 2013 from http://www.mybiggayears.com/archives/fann/ Picture of Wilhelm Hensel, Wikapedia, retrieved February 19, 2013 from http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Wilhelm_Hensel__Selbstbildnis_1829.jpg Picture of Fanny and Wilhelm Hensel, The Linosaurus, retrieved February 19, 2013 from http://gerriethefriendlyghost.blogspot.com/2011/07/eva-roemer.html Picture of Sebastian, Tillard, Fanny Mendelssohn, scanned on February 25, 2013, Image 18. Picture of Franz Liszt, Digital Derring-Do, Britannica, retrieved February 27, 2013 from http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/10/digitalderringdo-piano-virtuoso-franz-liszt-200/ Picture of graves, Find a Grave, retrieved February 17, 2013 from http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=10315&PIpi=190327 Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel Manuscript, Pellegrinas Notebook, http://pellegrina4.wordpress.com/2009/07/23/song-without-words-sisterwithout-brother/fanny-mendelssohn-manuscript-4/

Bibliography
Bach, Judit. A Tale of Two Piano Trios: Fanny and Felix Mendelssohns Piano Trios in D Minor (Op. 11, Op. 49); And How a Woman Composers Work Should Relate to the Canon. Ohio State University, 2005 Retrieved February 6, 2013 from <http://etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi/Bach%20Judit.pdf?osu1117648285> Gritton, Susan and Eugene Asti. Fanny Mendelssohn: Lieder. Audio CD. Hyperion UK, January 11, 2000. Kamen, Gloria. Hidden Music: The Life of Fanny Mendelssohn. New York, NY: Atheneum Book for Young Readers, 1996. Manheim, James. Fanny Hensel, Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Trios. All Music Review. 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2013 from <http://www.allmusic.com/album/fanny-hensel-felixmendelssohn-piano-trios-mw0001875301> Paton, John Glenn. 16 Songs: Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. USA: Alfred Music Publishing Co., Inc., 1995. Schroder, Jaap, Enid Sutherland, and Penelope Crawford, The Atlantis Trio. Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn: Piano Trios. Audio CD and CD Notes. MusicOmnia, 2001. Shichtman, Sandra H. and Dorothy Indenbaum. Gifted Sister: The Story of Fanny Mendelssohn. Greensboro, NC: Morgan Reynolds Publishing, 2007. The Lied, Art Songs, and Choral Text Archive. Retrieved January 31, 2013 from <http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=7768> Thomsen, Anne. Fanny Mendelssohn: Her Life and Music. Paper for Salt Lake Community College MUSC 1010, February 2013. Tillard, Franoise. Fanny Mendelssohn. Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1996.