Hensel, Fanny (EN)

Hensel Fanny Cäcilie, née Mendelssohn, *14 November 1805 Hamburg, †14 May 1847 Berlin, the sister of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, a German pianist and composer.

From childhood, she showed great talent as a pianist. She studied with L. Berger (piano) and K.F. Zelter (composition), and occasionally performed in Berlin. In 1829, she married painter Wilhelm Hensel. In 1839–40, she travelled around Italy. From 1841/42, she hosted Sunday morning music sessions at her parents’ home. Her son Sebastian wrote a family biography. Spiritually, Fanny was closely connected to her brother Felix, who held her works in high regard and even published six of her songs in his cycles: Nos. 2, 3 and 12 in 12 Lieder, Op. 8, and Nos. 7, 10 and 12 in 12 Lieder, Op. 9. Fanny Mendelssohn composed a total of 11 opuses, published posthumously.

Literature: S. Hensel Die Familie Mendelssohn 1729–1847, Berlin 1879, 18th ed. 1924, abridged and revised by K.A. Horst, Freiburg 1959, reprint of the 1882 English edition, New York 1969; J. Werner Felix und Fanny Mendelssohn, “Music and Letters” XXVIII, 1947; F. Schnapp Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s Brief an seine Schwester Fanny Hensel, «Schweizerische Musikzeitung und Sängerblatt» XCIX, 1959; Fanny Hensel. Dokumente ihres Lebens. Ausstellungskatalog der Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin 1972; W. Blunt Fanny Mendelssohn. Na skrzydłach pieśni, Warsaw 1979.