Book Description

Abstract: Social forces shape the musical canon and the relation of the work of women composers to that male-dominated canon. Felix Mendelsssohn is a major figure in classical music, while Fanny is most likely known as his sister and not as a composer in her own right. In my study I will adress the injustice of the past, and argue for the inclusion of Fanny Mendelssohn's music in the traditional concert repertoire. Fanny's story is emblematic, and her situation can help illuminate the fate of other nineteenth-century women composers. Her story is a story of a woman with talent, with merit, who had been given the chance to try her wings, but not the chance to fly. There are two main issues here: why did her music, and that of many other nineteenth-century women composers, never become part of the canon; and how might that neglect be remedied, if it should in fact be remedied? These questions cannot be addressed without looking closely at the music, and without discussing larger social problems and analogies. The former issue broaches the social forces that prevented Fanny from becoming a professional musician, the powers that shape tradition, the notion of universal value, and the notion of difference. The latter issue brings up questions about assimilation, segregation, and acculturation. The core part of the document is a comparative analysis of the Piano Trios in D minor by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn. The purpose of this comparison is to show that there is no intrinsically musical justification for the neglect of Fanny's composition. The two trios have enough similarities and analogies to show that her work fits securely into the tradition of the piano trio genre, while the subtle differences in dealing with musical details are witnesses to Fanny's unique, distinct musical language, which is generally speaking more spontaneous than that of Felix. Fanny's music is the music of a composer in her own right.