One of the most frequently set of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poems, Kennst du das Land, wo die Zitronen blühn (Do you know the land where the lemons blossom) is the ultimate expression of a yearning for all things Italian. In August 1822, the 16-year-old Fanny Mendelssohn (later Fanny Hensel) was also inspired by the text to write a song entitled Sehnsucht nach Italien (Longing for Italy). At the time, the Mendelssohn family was holidaying in Switzerland, “on the way to the Gotthard Pass”,...