Fanny Mendelssohn (Fanny Hensel) — Investigation
Status: Documented. Six songs published under Felix's name; Easter Sonata misattributed to Felix for ~40 years. Pattern: brother's career prioritized; sister's work suppressed or appropriated.
Overview
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847), later Fanny Hensel. Virtuosic pianist; composed ~500 works. Published few due to family/social constraints. Family believed it improper for a high-status woman to pursue professional composition.
Documented Credit Theft
1. Six Songs Under Felix's Name
- Opus 8 and 9: Six of Fanny's songs published under Felix Mendelssohn's name.
- Published with her consent—family pressure, not theft per se. But public record attributes them to Felix.
- Felix presented one of Fanny's songs to Queen Victoria as his own; "red faces" when she said it was her favorite.
2. Easter Sonata — 40-Year Misattribution
- Composed: 1828, by Fanny.
- Lost: ~150 years.
- Found: 1970, manuscript in France.
- First recording: 1972—attributed to Felix Mendelssohn.
- Correction: 2010—musicologist Angela Mace Christian verified via handwriting analysis: Fanny's work, not Felix's.
- Premiered under her name: September 7, 2012, Duke University; UK premiere March 8, 2017 (BBC Radio 3, International Women's Day).
Content
- Four movements; depicts Passion of Christ.
- Second movement: "ecclesiastical fugue."
- Finale: fantasy on chorale "Christe, du Lamm Gottes"; expresses Christ's death.
Pattern
- Brother's career prioritized; sister's work suppressed or published under his name.
- Parallel: Nannerl Mozart (brother credited; her sonatas lost/destroyed).
- Female erasure in classical canon.
Cross-Reference
- mozart-nannerl.md — Same brother/sister pattern; Leopold's hand on Wolfgang's early works
Sources
