IDAGIO | Fanny Hensel: Charakterstücke - Works for solo Piano 4260052386484

Featuring

Sontraud Speidel
Fanny Hensel

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Recording & Production

This album features mostly first recordings of Fanny Hensel's piano compositions, primarily works she herself selected for publication.

Historical Context

Despite her talent, Fanny Hensel was not expected to pursue a professional career as a musician, which was contrary to her family's upper-middle-class values and the prevailing views on women's roles in the 19th century.

Composition History

Fanny Hensel's 'Sunday Concerts' at her home in Berlin were a significant cultural event, featuring works by classical masters, her brother Felix, and her own compositions, attended by figures like Franz Liszt.

Composer Biography

Fanny Hensel was a musical prodigy who, by age 13, could play the entire first volume of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier from memory.

Composer Biography

Fanny Hensel, born Mendelssohn Bartholdy, was the eldest sister of the famous composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and granddaughter of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.

Composition History

Fanny Hensel only began publishing her works in 1846, at the urging of her husband and a friend, and with her brother Felix's reluctant consent.

Critical Reception

Contemporary critics praised Fanny Hensel's piano playing, with one friend of Felix Mendelssohn calling it 'more feminine' but acknowledging a 'strong family resemblance in its fire, clarity and accomplishment'.