Fanny Mendelssohn

As gifted as her beloved brother, Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn was held back by the prejudices of her time that a woman should first and foremost be a loving wife and a caring mother. Adored by a brother who did not, however, encourage the publication of her works, Fanny was nevertheless able to compose some 460 scores throughout her life, encouraged by an artist husband who recognized her exceptional talent.

Recently discovered, her String Quartet in E flat major was not intended to leave the family sphere. However, it is a pure, serious and lyrical masterpiece that should be discovered urgently. The Piano Quartet in A flat major is a student work when she worked with her brother with Carl Zelter. However, one can detect a real personality in it. The audacity and structure of her Trio in D minor, one of her last works, hints at the royal road that Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn could have reached if she had lived a little longer.