Marianna Martines
Marianna Martines, also Marianne von Martinez (4 May 1744 – 13 December 18… Read Full Bio ↴Marianna Martines, also Marianne von Martinez (4 May 1744 – 13 December 1812), was a composer, pianist, and singer of the classical period, based in Vienna, Austria.
Already as a child Martines was good enough to perform before the Imperial court, where according to the Helene Wessely, she "attracted attention with her beautiful voice and her keyboard playing." The adult Marianna was frequently asked to perform before the Empress Maria Theresa.
A number of the works that Martines composed are set for solo voice, and her biographers (Godt, Wessely) conjecture that the first singer of these works was their composer. If so, they constitute further evidence for her ability, as the music shows a "predilection for coloratura passages, leaps over wide intervals and trills indicat[ing] that she herself must have been an excellent singer." (Wessely).
Martines wrote a number of secular cantatas and two oratorios to Italian texts. These texts are, naturally enough, the work of her mentor Metastasio.
Surviving compositions include four masses, six motets, and three litanies for choir. She wrote in the Italian style, as was typical for the early Classical period in Vienna. Her harpsichord performance practice was compared to the style of C.P.E. Bach. Martines's compositions were well regarded in her time, and some scholars have suggested that Mozart modeled his 1768 Mass, V. 139, after the "Christe" of Martines's Mass No. 1 in D major. The Michaelerkirche (St. Michael's Church, next door to the Martines home), saw a performance of her third mass in 1761. Her fourth mass was completed in 1765.
Martines's name and music were known throughout Europe, and she was admitted to the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna in 1773.
Her Italian oratorio Isacco figura del redentore was premiered by massive forces in concerts (17 and 19 March 1782) of the Tonkünstler-Societät, a long-standing series that also performed large-scale works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Handel. The vocal soloists included Caterina Cavalieri and Ludwig Fischer.
Martines and her sister, neither of whom ever married, looked after their family friend Metastasio until his death in 1782. Metastasio left his estate to the Martines family; Marianna received 20,000 florins, Metastasio's harpsichord, and his music library. Marianna and her sister hosted musical soirees at their home. These weekly musical events attracted many distinguished guests, including Haydn and Irish tenor Michael Kelly. Mozart also was a frequent guest at the soirees and composed four-hand piano sonatas to perform with Marianne.
Though she was an active and highly accomplished performer and composer she never sought an appointed position; it would have been unacceptable for a woman in her social class to seek such employment.
Her last known public appearance was on 23 March 1808, attending a performance of Haydn's oratorio Die Schöpfung conducted by Salieri, in tribute to the composer. She died on 13 December 1812 and was buried in St. Mark's Cemetery.
Already as a child Martines was good enough to perform before the Imperial court, where according to the Helene Wessely, she "attracted attention with her beautiful voice and her keyboard playing." The adult Marianna was frequently asked to perform before the Empress Maria Theresa.
A number of the works that Martines composed are set for solo voice, and her biographers (Godt, Wessely) conjecture that the first singer of these works was their composer. If so, they constitute further evidence for her ability, as the music shows a "predilection for coloratura passages, leaps over wide intervals and trills indicat[ing] that she herself must have been an excellent singer." (Wessely).
Martines wrote a number of secular cantatas and two oratorios to Italian texts. These texts are, naturally enough, the work of her mentor Metastasio.
Surviving compositions include four masses, six motets, and three litanies for choir. She wrote in the Italian style, as was typical for the early Classical period in Vienna. Her harpsichord performance practice was compared to the style of C.P.E. Bach. Martines's compositions were well regarded in her time, and some scholars have suggested that Mozart modeled his 1768 Mass, V. 139, after the "Christe" of Martines's Mass No. 1 in D major. The Michaelerkirche (St. Michael's Church, next door to the Martines home), saw a performance of her third mass in 1761. Her fourth mass was completed in 1765.
Martines's name and music were known throughout Europe, and she was admitted to the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna in 1773.
Her Italian oratorio Isacco figura del redentore was premiered by massive forces in concerts (17 and 19 March 1782) of the Tonkünstler-Societät, a long-standing series that also performed large-scale works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Handel. The vocal soloists included Caterina Cavalieri and Ludwig Fischer.
Martines and her sister, neither of whom ever married, looked after their family friend Metastasio until his death in 1782. Metastasio left his estate to the Martines family; Marianna received 20,000 florins, Metastasio's harpsichord, and his music library. Marianna and her sister hosted musical soirees at their home. These weekly musical events attracted many distinguished guests, including Haydn and Irish tenor Michael Kelly. Mozart also was a frequent guest at the soirees and composed four-hand piano sonatas to perform with Marianne.
Though she was an active and highly accomplished performer and composer she never sought an appointed position; it would have been unacceptable for a woman in her social class to seek such employment.
Her last known public appearance was on 23 March 1808, attending a performance of Haydn's oratorio Die Schöpfung conducted by Salieri, in tribute to the composer. She died on 13 December 1812 and was buried in St. Mark's Cemetery.
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