On Stylistic Affinities in the Works of Fanny Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

As relatively rare as musical prodigies are in Western history, the instances of musical sibling prodigies represent even more unusual phenomena. One could argue as the most extraordinary example the children of J. S. Bach, and one would also include, of course, Wolfgang and Nannerl Mozart, celebrated during their English tour of 1767 as infant “prodigies of nature.” ¹ But the list does not extend much further; indeed, it is conspicuous for its exclusion of such figures as the Haydn brothers, who were certainly celebrated composers, but not child prodigies. Nor does the list include avuncular relationships, such as those of the Gabrielis or the Couperins in the seventeenth century. Nevertheless, there remains one further compelling example: Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, two musical prodigies reared and educated during the 1820s in the conservative cultural environment of high Berlin society. Like Nannerl Mozart, Fanny was protected by her parents from the travails of a professional career in music; but unlike Nannerl, of whom no compositions survive, Fanny left several hundred works, a substantial testament to her unusual musical gifts and a window into the creative world of her internationally acclaimed brother ² .