Fanny Mendelssohn: Piano Sonata in A, "Easter"

[Mark Thomas]

Did anyone record the BBC Radio 3 broadcast on 8 March 2017 of Fanny Mendelssohn's "Easter" Piano Sonata? It's no longer available at the BBC site. It was long thought to be by her brother Felix, but recent research has established that it's by her. Here's the story.

[Mark Thomas]

I see that the same work (but attributed to Felix) can be heard in an LP transfer on You Tube here and here, but it would be good to hear the broadcast performance if at all possible.

[Mark Thomas]

Judging by Eric Heidsieck's performance on LP (see links above), this is a sensitive, impassioned and impressive piece. It's not a work of genius, as suggested by some of the more hyperbolic reports in the musical press, but it's certainly a very strong work from a 23 year old.

[giles.enders]

I was present at the broadcast.  The consensus with the people that I was with, was that it was a very fine work especially from a 23 year old.  There were reservations about the pianist who seemed to hammer on the keys.  A little more sensitivity was required.  Sheila Hayman, a direct descendant of Fanny's filmed the concert and is hoping there will be a TV programme featuring this work later in the year.  The work was sloppily introduced.  It didn't put the piece into context, for example, why was a Jewish composer writing an Easter sonata. 

[Mark Thomas]

Thank you, Giles. It's good to know that you too thought it a fine work. Maybe, judging by what you say about the quality of the broadcast performance, I'm better off sticking with Heidsieck's rendition, which unfortunately I can't share here as it comes from a commercial LP.

[JimL]

I don't know if Fanny was converted at the same time as Felix, but she was quite possibly Christian by the time she composed the sonata.  I think she would have been 18 when Felix was 13.

[eschiss1]

Hrm? Felix and Fanny were baptized in 1816. But this is not the same as conversion. Their parents converted; they were raised in a Protestant religion (though some of Felix' works suggest - well, anyway )