It was on a warm June morning in 1842 that Felix Mendelssohn was invited for the second time to perform at Buckingham Palace for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. For Victoria and Albert, it was their shared love of music that brought them together - they took their sheet music with them wherever they travelled so that they could play piano duets and sing for each other. Mendelssohn knowing this had a request - would the Queen like to sing? He rummaged about his music producing a set of songs for her to pick her favourite. She chose “Italien”. It wasn’t until after she sang that he confessed that his sister Fanny had written the song.
Fanny was the oldest of four children, including her younger brother Felix. In early childhood in Berlin, she and Felix began to play piano learning from their mother. After studying briefly in Paris, Fanny and her brother received lessons from some of Berlin's top tutors including composer Carl Zelter. Zelter had high praise for her, favouring her over Felix. In 1816 he wrote in a letter
“[Abraham Mendelssohn] has adorable children and his oldest daughter could give you something of Sebastian Bach. This child is really something special.”
By 14 years old, Fanny could already play all 24 preludes from Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier from memory and had begun to write her own music. Yet, it was only Felix performing his first public showcase. Felix soon began touring Europe, dazzling audiences with his compositions and piano. By his mid-20s, he was well on his way to establishing himself as one of the Romantic Age’s greatest composers. Fanny remained at home. Much later, in 1831, Zelter portrays Fanny’s skill with the highest praise for a woman at the time:
“ she plays like a man.”
But, that was precisely the problem - she was not a man.
But, that was precisely the problem - she was not a man.
In the Victorian era, men and women’s roles became more sharply defined than at any time in history. Although it had been a custom in earlier centuries for men to be granted the right to make decisions, it had been usual for women to work alongside husbands and brothers in the family business. As the 19th-century men increasingly commuted to their workplace, women were left at home to oversee the domestic duties. Fanny Mendelssohn’s father upheld these social norms. Although he also believed Fanny to be the more musical child, he tolerated but did not support Fanny’s work. In 1820, he wrote to her,
“Music will perhaps become his [Felix’s] profession, while for you it can and must be only an ornament, it may never form the core of your life”.
But what about Felix? Although Felix was said to support her music and composition, he was cautious of her publishing works under her own name. He wrote to his mother:
“From my knowledge of Fanny, I should say that she has neither inclination nor vocation for authorship. She is too much all that a woman ought to be for this. She regulates her house, and neither thinks of the public nor of the musical world nor even of music at all, until her first duties are fulfilled. Publishing would only disturb her in these, and I cannot say that I approve of it”.
Forced by circumstance, her dutiful attitude to her father and her intense relationship with her brother she dedicated herself to Sonntagsmusiken - musical concerts set up by her mother in their family home to develop her children’s talent. Initially, of course, Felix took the lead but when he began to tour Fanny took over, seizing the opportunity to develop her musical skills and even building a choir that could perform her large scale works. The entire cultural elite of Berlin visited, with famous artists and musicians such as Wolfgang Goethe, Heinrich Heine, Niccoló Paganini, Franz Liszt, Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann as regular guests.
In 1829, Fanny Mendelssohn married artist Wilhelm Hensel. Wilhelm was Atypical for the period and In 1829, Fanny Mendelssohn married artist Wilhelm Hensel. Wilhelm was not typical of the period and considerably more liberal than her father and brother. He did not demand his wife stop composing, but unequivocally supported her musical ambitions encouraging her to publish her works. And,even leaving manuscript paper for her to write new compositions before he left to paint each day. But even after her marriage with Willhelm, she could not bring herself to break the publication ban imposed by her father and brother.
When her father died in 1835, Fanny made her first contact with publishers. Felix was not supportive. As a married woman, Fanny was not required to heed her brother’s wishes, but she couldn’t bring herself to go against him. She decided not to publish her work and continued to showcase her talents in the family home only. In the meantime, Fanny could publish some of her songs under Felix’s name. It was at this time she wrote to Goethe, who was supportive of her work,
“It must be a sign of talent that I do not give up, though I can get nobody to take an interest in my efforts.”
It took another 11 years for her to defy her brother’s wishes. After an approach by two Berlin publishers, she decided to publish some of her songs under her married name without consulting him. He finally gave his reluctant blessing writing to her:
“[I] send you my professional blessing on becoming a member of the craft [...] 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 with sand.”
Later that year she composed and published her Gardens songs for choir. She was happy with her work, but her choice of words in this letter to Felix is very telling
‘There is a very pleasant time associated with these songs, that’s why they are more dear to me than my other trifles.’
Finally, at 41, she has broken free from the restraints Victorian Society upheld by her father and brother. In May 1847 a rave review of her Garden Songs appeared in a prestigious Music Magazine. Could this have been the start of her forging own career? We will never know. That same day, Fanny Mendelssohn succumbed to a stroke while rehearsing Felix’s choral works. Felix was in London when he heard the news and could not get back in time for the funeral. Devastated he could not work and instead spent his time attempting to ensure that his sister received the recognition that had been withheld throughout most of her life. He collected many of the 460 works she wrote, intending to release them to the public through his publisher. However, in November 1847 he also suffered a stroke and died. After his death, his publisher heeded his wishes and began to distribute some of her work although not all.
Despite Felix’s efforts, Fanny was represented as a ‘feminising’ influence that sapped his artistry in biographies in the 19th Century. It wasn’t until the 1980s that she began to be recognised for the work she did.
Fanny was an incredibly talented woman. I would suggest checking out her work Notturno in G minor and my favourite Allegro molto in C minor. They are some of the most beautiful pieces I have ever heard. I love telling Fanny's story, not just because it is an interesting story from long ago or even because telling it helps right a wrong but because it reminds me to keep evaluating my point of view. What we once thought was common sense from a modern lens seems unacceptable. Felix and Abraham were not bad people but rather a product of their time. We all know parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts with old-fashioned views and understand how those points of view have shaped the world. Fanny's story reminds me to challenge my own opinions, to keep on rooting out the biases that have inevitability built within myself and to forgive myself when I find them, because, like Felix and Abraham, I am also a product of my time. Luckily times change and I plan to change with them.
Are there any artists that you know that did not get the recognition they deserve? Let me know down in the comments.
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References
Gender Roles in The 19th Century: https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gender-roles-in-the-19th-century
Fanny Mendelssohn History: https://www.history.com/news/fanny-mendelssohn-finally-gets-her-due
How Fanny Mendelssohn was Eclipsed by Felix: https://tdrks.medium.com/fanny-mendelssohn-in-the-shadow-of-felix-4c3782ba8576
Fanny Mendelssohn: The Other Mendelssohn: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fanny-Hensel-Mendelssohn-Larry-Todd/dp/019936639X
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: A Life of Music within Domestic Limits: http://www.kapralova.org/journal9.pdf
