Fanny Mendelssohn Research Paper
Fanny Mendelssohn
Fanny Mendelssohn was one of the greatest female composers to have ever lived. She was born on November 14th, 1805 in Hamburg, Germany. Fanny was a romantic composer and, though only few were published in her life, she composed over 500 works including lieder and piano pieces (Stanton, 1984). Fanny was the oldest of four children and the sister of the well-known composer Felix Mendelssohn, with whom she was very close to (Estrella, 2011). Her grandfather was Moses Mendelssohn, a very popular philosopher of the time (Estrella, 2011). Fanny was extremely talented from childhood, but unfortunately was limited due to the negative attitudes toward women in musical professions of the time (Estrella, 2011). As a child, Fanny was trained on the piano by her mother. She once performed twenty four preludes from Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Well-tempered Clavier” from memory (Stanton, 1984). She was also influenced when she began to study under other composers. In 1816, Fanny began to compose with Marie Bigot in Paris. Later, in 1818, she went on to study composition under Carl Friedrich Zelter (Estrella, 2011). She wrote over 200 lieders, including the famous “Swan Song” (Estrella, 2011). She also wrote over 200 fugues, preludes, …show more content…
Societal attitudes of the time prevented women from holding professions in music. Even her father discouraged her. In an 1820 letter to Fanny, he tells her that, while music could be a career for Felix, "for you it can and must only be an ornament, never the basis of your being and doing. (FMH, 2009)." He encouraged her to take on the more “conventional” role of staying at home and bearing children. A year later, Fanny married Wilhelm Hensel. She did take on the acceptable role of women at the time, but still continued to compose over 400 more works (FMH,
Fanny Mendelssohn was one of the greatest female composers to have ever lived. She was born on November 14th, 1805 in Hamburg, Germany. Fanny was a romantic composer and, though only few were published in her life, she composed over 500 works including lieder and piano pieces (Stanton, 1984). Fanny was the oldest of four children and the sister of the well-known composer Felix Mendelssohn, with whom she was very close to (Estrella, 2011). Her grandfather was Moses Mendelssohn, a very popular philosopher of the time (Estrella, 2011). Fanny was extremely talented from childhood, but unfortunately was limited due to the negative attitudes toward women in musical professions of the time (Estrella, 2011). As a child, Fanny was trained on the piano by her mother. She once performed twenty four preludes from Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Well-tempered Clavier” from memory (Stanton, 1984). She was also influenced when she began to study under other composers. In 1816, Fanny began to compose with Marie Bigot in Paris. Later, in 1818, she went on to study composition under Carl Friedrich Zelter (Estrella, 2011). She wrote over 200 lieders, including the famous “Swan Song” (Estrella, 2011). She also wrote over 200 fugues, preludes, …show more content…
Societal attitudes of the time prevented women from holding professions in music. Even her father discouraged her. In an 1820 letter to Fanny, he tells her that, while music could be a career for Felix, "for you it can and must only be an ornament, never the basis of your being and doing. (FMH, 2009)." He encouraged her to take on the more “conventional” role of staying at home and bearing children. A year later, Fanny married Wilhelm Hensel. She did take on the acceptable role of women at the time, but still continued to compose over 400 more works (FMH,