Marianna Martines

Marianna Martines, also Marianne von Martinez[b] (4 May 1744 – 13 December 1812), was a composer, pianist, and singer of the classical period, based in Vienna, Austria.

He later changed careers, serving in Vienna as Maestro di Camera (major-domo) at the papal nuncio; that is, the Pope's embassy to the Austrian Empire.

For service to the Empire, Marianna's brother Joseph in 1774 acquired a patent of nobility, hence the "von" in the family surname.

[2] At the very top, in a cold and leaky attic room, lived a struggling young composer, Joseph Haydn, who was trying to make his way as a freelance musician.

Metastasio also saw to it that Marianna received a thorough general education, which far surpassed what was considered standard for women of her social class at that time.

She was a native speaker of both Italian and German, and in an autobiographical letter to Padre Martini indicated that she had good command of French.

[4] Already as a child Martines was good enough to perform before the Imperial court, where according to Helene Wessely, she "attracted attention with her beautiful voice and her keyboard playing.

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."

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.

These weekly musical events attracted many distinguished guests, including Haydn and Irish tenor Michael Kelly.

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.