The Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna admitted Marianna Martines in 1773, marking the first time the prestigious institution extended membership to a woman. A fixture of the Viennese musical landscape, Martines operated as a composer, singer, and pianist within a social circle that included figures such as Joseph Haydn and the poet Pietro Trapassi, known as Metastasio.
Early Education and Influences
Born in Vienna in 1744, Martines grew up in the Altes Michaelerhaus, an apartment building where her neighbors included the singing teacher Nicola Porpora and a then-struggling Joseph Haydn. Metastasio, the Imperial Poet Laureate and a long-term guest of the Martines family, oversaw her comprehensive education. At age seven, she began keyboard lessons with Haydn, followed by singing instruction from Porpora. Her formal training in composition was further refined by Johann Adolph Hasse and the Imperial court composer Giuseppe Bonno.
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Martines established her reputation through performances at the Imperial court before Empress Maria Theresa, demonstrating proficiency in both vocal and keyboard arts. Her vocal music, characterized by coloratura passages and expansive intervals, suggests she likely performed her own works. Her catalog includes four masses, six motets, three litanies, various psalm cantatas, two oratorios, three keyboard sonatas, three keyboard concertos, and one symphony. Her third mass was performed at the Michaelerkirche in 1761, and her fourth mass reached completion in 1765.
Legacy and Later Years
Following the death of Metastasio in 1782, Martines inherited his library, his harpsichord, and a sum of 20,000 florins. She subsequently hosted weekly musical soirees, attracting notable musicians to her home. Though her compositions were respected during her lifetime—with some scholars noting influences on later works—social conventions regarding her class prevented her from seeking official court appointments. She attended a 1808 performance of Haydn’s The Creation, conducted by Salieri, before her death in 1812.
Fast facts
- Born: 1744, Vienna
- Died: 13 December 1812, Vienna
- Primary occupations: composer, pianist, singer
- First woman admitted to Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna: 1773
- Notable mentor: Pietro Trapassi (Metastasio)
- Significant 1782 oratorio: Isacco figura del redentore
- Languages spoken: German, Italian, French, English
- Burial site: St. Marx's Cemetery
Questions readers ask
Did Marianna Martines ever marry?
No, she and her sister remained unmarried throughout their lives.
What kind of music did she write?
She composed in the Italian style, producing oratorios, masses, motets, secular cantatas, keyboard concertos, and a symphony.
Achievements
- Instruments: piano and voice
