I was listening to All Classical Portland about a week ago [in February of 2018] and heard this string quartet I hadn’t heard before and I thought to myself, ‘that sounds like Mendelssohn’. I was right, it was Mendelssohn. But I was also wrong, as it wasn’t Felix Mendelssohn [one of my favorite composers] who I thought, but rather his sister Fanny Mendelssohn. Then I thought to myself, what an amazing classical musical family.
Born in Hamburg, Germany she was also known as Fanny Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and after her marriage she was known as Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel.
Fanny Mendelssohn was the oldest of the four children, born on November 14, 1805. Just like her brother Felix [or should I say, Felix just like his sister fanny] was a virtuoso pianist and a composer. Another similarity of these two great composers was they both showed tremendous musical ability at a young age. Also, sadly, these siblings both died at a too young age. She died at the age of 41 in Berlin, Germany, on May 14, 1847.
Please turn up the volume and enjoy some wonderful music from Mendelssohn-not Felix, but Fanny! First, the string quartet I heard on All Classical Portland that inspired me to write this classical music post.
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel: String Quartet in E Flat Major:
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel: Overture in C Major:
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel: Piano Trio in D minor:
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel: “Bergeslust”:
Classical Music With Big Mike 