Fanny Mendelssohn (Amadeus) [Hardcover]

Francoise Tillard (Author), Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (Composer)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003

This is the first English-language biography of Fanny Mendelssohn, the older sister of Felix Mendelssohn and a gifted composer and pianist in her own right. Under pressure to neglect her talents in favor of her brother, Fanny stifled her career, and most of her 400 compositions have only recently become known. HARDCOVER

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Fanny Mendelssohn (1805^-47), like her brother Felix (1809^-47), was a precocious musician who trained with the best teachers. Her parents believed, however, that a woman must devote body and soul to home, family, and motherhood. Her hopes for a musical career thus dashed, Fanny became Felix's confidante. Enter painter and poet Wilhelm Hensel (1794^-1861), who met Fanny in 1821 and, eight years later, married her. Fanny continued composing pieces, including settings of Hensel's poems, that she performed at Sunday afternoon musicales in the couple's apartment in the Mendelssohn home. An 1839 trip to Rome revived her spirit for music. She surrounded herself with French composers: Gounod, Berlioz, and Massenet, from whom she learned the meaning of liberty. In 1845, she began publishing her music. She issued 12 collections by the end of her life, by which time she saw herself as a woman dilettante, "the most alarming creature that can be imagined." Telling her story, Tillard tells that of the Mendelssohns, too, because much of Fanny's life is revealed in their correspondence. Alan Hirsch

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Hardcover: 402 pages
• Publisher: Amadeus Press (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931340969
• ISBN-13: 978-0931340963
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #777,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Mendelssohn