Fanny Mendelssohn for kids: her life, her music, and what to play first

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was a German composer and pianist who lived from 1805 to 1847. She wrote more than 400 pieces of music. Most of them were not printed while she lived, because in her time few women could work as composers. The best first piece for a child is a month from Das Jahr, her set of twelve piano pieces for the twelve months of the year.

Quick facts

• Born: 1805, in Hamburg, Germany
• Died: 1847, in Berlin, Germany
• Era: Romantic
• Played: piano
• Known for: songs, piano pieces, and the piano cycle Das Jahr

The life in short

Fanny was the oldest of four children. Her brother Felix was about three years younger. The two had the same music teachers, and their teachers praised them both.

At 13, she played 24 pieces by Bach from memory as a gift for her father.

As the two grew up, their paths split. Felix was sent to travel and build a career. Fanny was told that music could be a pleasure for her and nothing more. Her father wrote this to her in a letter when she was 14.

She kept writing. In 1829 she married Wilhelm Hensel, a painter, who encouraged her to keep composing. She ran the Sunday concerts at the family home in Berlin, where she played, conducted, and tried out her new music for large audiences of invited guests.

A few of her songs were printed under Felix’s name. Years later, Queen Victoria told Felix which of his songs was her favorite. He had to admit that Fanny had written it.

In 1846, at age 40, Fanny began to publish music under her own name. She died the next year. Felix died less than six months after her.

What the music sounds like

Fanny wrote for the instruments she had at home: the piano and the voice. Her piano music is full and rich, and it needs a strong player.

Many of her pieces are called songs for piano. They have a tune a person could sing, with a flowing part underneath.

Three pieces to play first

Das Jahr (The Year). Fanny spent a year in Italy with her husband and son. Afterward she wrote one piano piece for each month. Her husband painted a small picture for the top of each one. Start with the month of your child’s birthday. “December” has falling notes that suggest snow, and it ends with a Christmas hymn.

Piano Trio in D minor. A piano, a violin, and a cello share a stormy, rushing tune. She wrote it for her sister’s birthday in the last year of her life.

Notturno in G minor. A quiet night piece for piano. It suits bedtime.

A piece that was lost and found

Fanny wrote a large piano piece called the Easter Sonata when she was 22. The pages went missing. When they turned up in 1970, the music was signed “F. Mendelssohn,” and people took it for the work of Felix. In 2010, a scholar proved that Fanny wrote it.

Things to do together

Birthday month. Play the piece from Das Jahr for each person’s birthday month. Ask what in the music fits that time of year.

Paint the month. Fanny’s husband painted a picture for every month. Play one piece and have your child paint or draw a picture to go with it.

Who wrote it? Talk about why Fanny’s name was left off her songs. Ask your child how they would feel if someone else’s name went on their drawing.

Find her brother. Fanny and Felix are side by side on the composer timeline. Count how many years each one lived.

Print and play

Print the Fanny Mendelssohn fact sheet. It has the story, three pieces, and room to write and draw.

Next, read about her brother in Felix Mendelssohn for kids, or meet another pianist and composer of the same years in Clara Schumann for kids. For all 24 composers by era, see classical composers for kids.