# 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.

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## 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.

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## 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.

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## 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.

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## Cross-Reference

- [mozart-nannerl.md](mozart-nannerl.md) — Same brother/sister pattern; Leopold's hand on Wolfgang's early works

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## Sources

- [Smithsonian: Easter Sonata attributed to Fanny](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sonata-fanny-mendelssohn-mistakenly-attributed-her-brother-premieres-under-her-name-180962429/)
- [Wikipedia: Easter Sonata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Sonata)
- [CNN: Fanny Mendelssohn Easter Sonata](https://www.cnn.com/style/article/fanny-mendelssohn-lost-sonata-trnd)
- [PianoDao: Fanny Hensel Easter Sonata](https://pianodao.com/2025/01/31/fanny-hensel-easter-sonata/)

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Keywords: #Fanny #Mendelssohn #Hensel