Felix Mendelssohn did not spare harsh words about her String Quartet in E flat major of 1834: “I would advise you to pay greater heed to maintaining a certain form, particularly in the modulations.”

Fanny countered immediately: “You lived and composed your way through this, while I have remained stuck in it, and without the strength with which delicacy can and should only exist. This is why I feel you either did not hit the nail on the head with me, or could not express it.”

It is hard to believe that Fanny Hensel needed a “craftsman’s approval” from her famous brother Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in order to be allowed to publish some of her compositions under her own name.

In the meantime, contemporary musical life has long solved the dispute between brother and sister and granted Fanny Hensel her “craftsman’s approval” posthumously for her String Quartet. Thanks to our carefully prepared edition, this impressive work should continue to create a stir.