- Hensel composed this sonata during July 3–c. 19 July 19, 1824. It is her earliest surviving piano sonata, composed when she was a few months shy of her 19th birthday.1
- Listen for: the second movement is an example of Hensel’s “Song without Words” style.2
- Hensel dedicated this piece to her brother Felix, adding “in his absence” to the dedication. He was staying at Bad Doberan while she wrote this piece.3
- Incidentally, Felix wrote his Overture for Wind Instruments in C Major, Op. 24 during this visit to Bad Doberan.
Sources
- Angela Mace Christian, “Hensel [née Mendelssohn (-Bartholdy)], Fanny Cäcilie,” Grove Music Online (November 28, 2018), accessed February 3, 2022, https://ww.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-3000000159.
- Ibid.
- Caroline Waight, liner notes to Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel: Piano Sonatas in C and G minor, Heather Schmidt, Naxos 8.570825, CD, 2010.
Cut IDs
24215