In 1970 , a record gatherer located an original , long - lost sonata signed “ F Mendelssohn ” in a French bookshop . This collector at once ascribed the masterpiece , “ Easter Sonata , ” to Felix Mendelssohn , a German composer born in 1809 . The problem , as one scholar come across ten subsequently , was that it was n’t Felix ’s piece of work after all . It was a composition by his older sis , Fanny Mendelssohn , a piece that has lastly been performed under her name for the first time , asThe Washington Postreports .
In 2010 , Duke University graduate studentAngela Macewas able to examine the original manuscript , which was owned by a individual collector and antecedently unprocurable to scholars . Looking at Fanny ’s journal , letters and handwritten score , Mace determined that the handwriting on “ Easter Sonata ” was hers . In addition to the fact that the claim of the bit , “ Ostersonate , ” was written in Fanny ’s mitt , her diary cite having compose the work , and the page number match the missing number in another manuscript she author .
Mendelssohn was not allow by her family to pursue a melodic career like her brother ’s , but she was a exceptional endowment , and draw up “ Easter Sonata ” in her early 20s . It was n’t the only one of her works that her brother got credit for : Fanny get Felix publish six of her pieces under his name in his Opus 8 and Opus 9 , though he would n’t give her his grace to publish under her own name , harmonise toSheila Hayman , one of Fanny ’s descendant . While she write around500 compositionsduring her life , few were put out before her early last at age 41 .
In honor of International Women ’s Day , “ Easter Sonata ” was perform for the first time under Fanny Mendelssohn ’s name , act by the piano player Sofya Gulyak in London on March 8 . Henri - Jacques Coudert , the phonograph record collector who first discover the manuscript , still insist it was Felix ’s .
[ h / tThe Washington Post ]
