Fanny's Music A Tale of Two Piano Trios

Fanny Mendelssohn s Piano Trio in D Minor strikes the listener by its powerful passion and beauty, yet it is not included in general index anthologies of music repertoire. Fanny s story is emblematic, and her situation can help illuminate the fate of other 19th century women composers. How do their music relate to the canon? How can tradition be changed? How could past neglects be remedied, if they should be remedied? These questions surfaced in academic writings during the past few decades, and are part of an ongoing debate. In this writing, they are addressed through the case of Fanny Mendelssohn. The core part of the book is a comparative analysis of the Piano Trios in D minor by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn to argue that there is no intrinsically musical justification for the neglect of Fanny s composition. The two trios have enough similarities and analogies to show that her work fits securely into the tradition of the piano trio genre, while the subtle differences in dealing with musical details are witnesses to Fanny s unique, distinct musical language, which is generally speaking more spontaneous than that of Felix. Fanny s music is the music of a composer in her own right.