Composers Corner: Marianna Martinez

Marianna Martinez (May 4, 1744 - December 13, 1812) was born in Vienna. She had a sister and four brothers. Her father had moved there from Naples, Italy and worked in the royal court. Her mother was Austrian. Unusually for a woman of the time, she had a good education and was encouraged to pursue her musical talents.

From a young age, she performed frequently on the harpsichord and as a singer including at the Imperial Court. She and Mozart often performed together, and he may have written his Piano Concerto No. 5 for her. She later started a singing school for young women.

Many of her compositions were lost in a fire, but we know that she wrote several works, including a mss, when she was 16 years old. Some of her compositions were performed at the St. Michael's Church in Vienna where she sometimes sang and played harpsichord.

In 1773 she was the first woman composer to be admitted to the Philharmonic Academy of Bologna. She was now recognized as one of the best composers in Vienna. She wrote many vocal and religious works including oratorios, masses, cantatas, motets, and arias. She also wrote a keyboard sonata and the only symphony known to be written by a woman during the Classical Period.