Piece of the day: Piano sonata in G minor by Fanny Mendelssohn

Today's piece of the day is a very unheard of piece by the female composer Fanny Mendelssohn. She was the sister of Felix Mendelssohn, and her compositions are elegant, yet grandiose and rich.

Fanny Mendelssohn

In her catalogue of works one can find a rather popular Piano trio in D minor, shed-loads of songs, an oratorio on scenes from the Bible, more songs, some string quartet writing and a fair amount of little piano pieces. 

If I am to be honest with you, I'd expect this composer to be much more well known, like her brother. The piano sonata in G minor is a pianistic and grand piece. In spite of this, its short, sweet melodies make is somewhat fluffy and feathery, despite the rather sullen key of G minor.

This piece in its entirety is unavailable on youtube, apart from the first movement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtlCpIoWQUo (Courtesy of Demian Panello)

However, the whole piece, with more piano Stücke, is contained in a fine album by the pianist Beatrice Rauch, who performs the pieces sublimely. Thoroughly worth listening to.

Enjoy!