Wolfram Lorenzen Mendelssohn Hensel Das Jahr

The months of the year, composed by Fanny Hensel in 1841, unfolds as a colourful cycle of character pieces for the listener. It was at that time a popular genre: the lyrical, enchanting atmosphere of brief moments – written mostly for the piano – can be traced back to the Baroque doctrine of the affections, but reached its pinnacle in the Romantic period. “Waldesrauschen”, for example, a rustling of leaves that Franz Liszt put into music, may be just as representative of this as Robert Schumann‘s “Kinderszenen” or “Lieder ohne Worte” by Felix Mendelssohn. The latter‘s highly talented sister, Fanny, joined precisely this tradition when she wrote “Das Jahr” in 1841 – 13 character pieces musically portraying the months of the year followed by a short epilogue. Her blissful and eventful travels in Italy two years previously, with her husband and their nine-year-old son, Sebastian, had inspired her. It was a year-long “sabbatical”, rich in creative development and filled with colourful impressions. In Rome, she moved in the circles of young musicians and painters at the Villa Medici and was greatly respected by her peers. The exuberant admiration of the composer Charles Gounod was also bestowed upon the youthful musician.

Pianist Sophia Weidemann and actress Tinka Kleffner present a musical-literary encounter with the exceptional composer Fanny Hensel in their new GENUIN album, "Das Jahr" (The Year). The album includes a remarkable piano cycle along with letters and diary entries to and by Hensel. Through their interpretation, these two highly acclaimed artists offer a high-level, intimate glimpse into the life and work of one of the most significant 19th-century female composers and enlightened thinkers, Fanny Hensel. Hensel's piano cycle covers a whole year, and the chosen and thoughtfully read excerpts mirror the emotionally rich and skillfully constructed music in the most delightful way!

“She shared the brotherhood of talent with her famous sibling”, wrote the poet and music journalist Ludwig Rellstab at the death of Fanny Hensel née Mendelssohn Bartholdy, the wife of the Prussian court painter Wilhelm Hensel. It was a fitting epitaph for an extraordinary woman who had died after suffering a stroke on 14 May 1847 at the age of 41.

This programme reflects all of the four musical Mendelssohn siblings except Rebecka, who tends to be left out. ‘My older brother and sister stole my reputation as an artist,’ she said sadly. ‘In any other family I would have been highly regarded as a musician and perhaps been leader of a group. Next to Felix and Fanny, I could not aspire to any recognition.’ The youngest, Paul, the only one born in Berlin after the family moved from Hamburg, contented himself with following his father and uncle into banking; but he was an excellent amateur cellist, and it is to his prowess as a private performer that we owe almost everything on this album.