Maria Anna Sabina (von) Genzinger (6 November 1754[1] – 26 January 1793), called Marianne, was a Viennese amateur musician, the mother of six children, and a friend of the composer Joseph Haydn.
[2] Marianne Genzinger was the daughter of Joseph von Kayser, who served as court councillor for Prince Batthyány.
[6] On 29 June 1773[7] she married the physician Peter Leopold Genzinger (b. son of the abbey's apothecary on 17 November 1737 in Schlägl, d. 8 September 1797 in Vienna[8]).
For many years, Genzinger served as Physician in Ordinary to Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy, who from 1766 to his death in 1790 was Joseph Haydn's patron and employer.
The location is a short walk from the Vienna palace of the Esterházy family on the Wallnerstraße, where Haydn would have worked during his stays in the city.
The first documentation of the friendship comes from their correspondence: having arranged the Andante movement of one of Haydn's symphonies for piano, Genzinger mailed a copy of her work to the composer, asking him to critique it.
Here is the text of her letter, dated 10 June 1789:[a] [three crosses] Most respected Herr v[on] Hayden, With your kind permission, I take the liberty of sending you a pianoforte arrangement of the beautiful Andante from your so admirable composition.
In all my previous correspondence, nothing delighted me more than the surprise of seeing such a lovely handwriting,[b] and reading so many kind expressions; but even more I admired the enclosure the excellent arrangement of the Adagio, which is correct enough to be engraved by any publisher.
There he found an atmosphere that seemed like the fulfillment of his old dreams: a comfortable, pleasant home; a woman of high culture who took the keenest interest in every one of his new compositions and who at the same time was so thoughtful a hostess that she prepared his favorite dishes; musically gifted children whom he could guide.
Haydn may also have been deprived of ordinary male friendship, given that his contract required him to act as a "house officer" and remain socially aloof from the musicians under his direction.
[e] That Haydn did indeed feel lonely during his final years at Eszterháza is suggested by a letter to Genzinger, dated February 9, 1790:[15] Well, here I sit in my wilderness; forsaken, like some poor orphan, almost without human society, melancholy, dwelling on the memory of past glorious days.
And who can tell when those happy hours may return--those charming meeting where the whole circle has but one heart and one soul--all those delightful musical evenings that can only be remembered and not described?
For instance, in a letter from Esterhaza from 9 February 1790, he wrote: My good friend Fräulein Peperl will (I hope) be reminded of her teacher by singing the Cantata frequently; she should remember to have a distinct articulation and a correct vocal production, for it would be a crime if so beautiful a voice were to remain hidden in her breast; so therefore I ask her to smile frequently, lest I be disappointed in her.
Now, gracious lady, I would like to take you to task a little, for believing that I prefer the city of London to Vienna, and that I find the sojourn here more agreeable than that in my fatherland.
Apart from wishing you a Good Morning, this is to ask you to give the bearer of this letter the final big Aria in F minor from my opera, because I must have it copied for my Princess.
He anxiously assures her, when one of his letters to her had been lost on the way, that it contained nothing dishonourable for the inquisitive to seize on ... His deep anxiety was that she ... should take fright and break off their correspondence.
[i] Concerning the slow movement, Haydn wrote to Genzinger, "I recommend it especially to your attention for it contains many things which I shall analyze for your grace when the time comes; it is rather difficult but full of feeling.".
[26] She wrote that "I like the Sonata very much, but there is one thing which I wish could be changed (if by so doing it does not detract from the beauty of the piece), and that is the passage in the second part of the Adagio, where the hands cross over; I am not used to this and thus found it hard to do, and so please let me know how this could be altered.