Easter sonata

Fanny Hensel née Mendelssohn, 1842, by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim

The Easter Sonata (German: Ostersonate) is a piano sonata in the key of A major, composed by Fanny Mendelssohn. It was lost for 150 years and when found attributed to her brother Felix, before finally being recognized as hers. It premiered in her name on March 8th 2017, played by Sofya Gulyak. It was the second sonata composed by Fanny Mendelssohn in 1829 when she was 23 years old. During her lifetime most of her music either remained unpublished or was published in her brothers name. The Easter Sonata was not published, but is mentioned as her work by Mendelssohn in her diary and letters written to her family members in 1829.[1][2]

The manuscript signed "F. Mendelssohn" was found in France in 1970 and the piece was recorded for the first time in 1972, attributed to Felix Mendelssohn. Critics described it as a masterpiece, noting its particularly "masculine" and "brutal" quality, and the ambition of its complexity. Some musicologists suggested that the piece might be by Fanny Mendelssohn, but the proposal was not seriously considered by most. In 2010 the original manuscript was found, which turned out to be in the handwriting of Fanny Mendelssohn, and later the references to the work in her diaries confirmed that the work was in fact hers.[3][4][5][2][6][7][8][9] The sonata is based on the Passion of Christ and the second movement contains an "ecclesiastical fugue", the Finale expresses the moment of Christ's death when the curtain of the Temple is rent asunder and ends with a "hymn of hope".[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Mendelssohn's sister finally has her own musical genius honoured".
  2. 1 2 Hayman, Sheila (8 March 2017). "A Fanny Mendelssohn masterpiece finally gets its due" – via The Guardian.
  3. ↑ "Graduate Student Solves Musical Mystery". Duke University.
  4. ↑ "‘Masculine’ sonata believed to be composed by Felix Mendelssohn was actually written by his sister, Fanny". New York Times Live. 10 March 2017.
  5. ↑ "They said this music was too "masculine" to be written by a woman". BBC.
  6. ↑ Sheila Hayman. "A Fanny Mendelssohn masterpiece finally gets its due". The Guardian.
  7. ↑ Katz, Brigit. "Sonata by Fanny Mendelssohn, Mistakenly Attributed to Her Brother, Premieres Under Her Name". Smithsonian Magazine.
  8. ↑ CNN, Alexandra Larkin. "Fanny Mendelssohn's brother took credit for her music, but she's getting her due".
  9. ↑ "Female composer gets belated credit for sonata that was attributed to her brother". 8 March 2017.
  10. ↑ "Did Felix Mendelssohn steal his musical hallmarks from his gifted sister? Easter sonata premiere, review". The Telegraph.
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