Marianna Martines

Marianna Martines was one of 18th-century Vienna’s most prominent composers. She received more acclaim than perhaps any other female composer of her time, yet her name isn’t mentioned enough today. Once you listen to her music, you’ll realize why she deserves more recognition! 

Marianna Martines was not only an important composer and the epicenter of the thriving Viennese music scene, she also gained substantial fame throughout Europe for her work. 

Here is a quick guide to Marianna Martines’s incredible accomplishments.

The Life of Marianna Martines

Marianna Martines was born Anna Katharina Martinez on May 4, 1744, in Vienna. Her father was a military officer, giving Martines access to some of the most elite artists in Austria. Martines showed great musical gifts from a young age, so much so that their neighbor Metastasio, an Italian poet and family friend, took responsibility for her education.

Growing up, Martines lived in an apartment block in the center of Vienna. Upstairs in the attic lived the struggling young composer Franz Joseph Haydn. Haydn gave Martines keyboard lessons and accompanied her on harpsichord when she performed as a vocalist. Marianna Martines returned his teaching by introducing the young musician to composers Johann Adolph Hasse and Guiseppe Bono, giving Haydn connections that would make his career flourish. 

Marianna Martines was a renowned singer as well as harpsichord player and composer. An impressive woman, she also spoke German, Italian, French and English fluently. 

By 1761, Martines had gained royal approval for her compositions. Empress Maria Theresa, the biggest musical patron in Vienna was immensely taken with the young composer. Marianna Martines went on to perform for the Empress many times and may have even dedicated works to her. 

Martines’ reputation quickly spread beyond Vienna. Metastasio sent her works to a number of established composers, including Padre Giovanni Battista Martini, who would later teach Mozart.     

Within Vienna, Martines was incredibly famous. As an adult, she ran legendary salon concerts famed throughout the city. Marianna Martines was also a teacher – she founded a singing school, training many young women to be first-rate vocalists. 

Marianna Martines and Metastasio remained close and when he died in 1782, she received a massive inheritance. This allowed her to compose music full-time without relying on a spouse for support.    

Marianna Martines was one of the greatest composers of her time. She was an inspiration as a singer, keyboardist, event manager, concert organizer, teacher, and more. At a time when most male composers either worked for the church or a royal court, Marianna Martines was able to accomplish incredible things without formal employment.  

Marianna Martines died on December 13, 1812. Despite her international reputation, her stardom was quickly obscured by the tide of patriarchy, misogyny, and bias of the classical music industry which kept her out of her rightful place in the canon. Despite this, her legacy can be seen partly in the ensuing rise of the European salon concert in the 19th century. These events were mostly run by women and may owe much to Marianna Martines’ influence.  

In recent years there have been several academic articles published about Martines as well as the book Marianna Martines: A Woman Composer in the Vienna of Mozart and Haydn.  

A Woman in a Man’s World?

Martines’s story is one of triumph, resilience and character. She didn’t allow the limitations of the time to prevent her from pursuing a musical career and creating a name for herself as one of the most important figures in Vienna.

The vast majority of music literature frames women composers as anomalies – lone women surrounded by men. Even though there were more male composers, many of the music scenes we know were populated by women.

In other words, Martines was not unique – she was the epicenter of a thriving music scene in Vienna which included many brilliant women. Martines was one of the Vienna 10 group of composers which include Maria Theresia von Paradis, Marianna von Auenbrugger, Marie Bigot, and Josepha Auernhammer. These women were all influential pianists and composers. Maria Theresia von Paradis commissioned music by Joseph Haydn, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Anton Salieri dedicated music to her as well. Auernhammer performed Mozart’s piano sonatas. Then there were the four Weber sisters, all renowned singers, and the incredible Nanette Streicher, legendary piano manufacturer, pianist, composer and concert organizer. Other members of the Viennese scene include the pianists Barbara Ployer and Therese Jansen, both dedicatees of piano sonatas by Mozart and Haydn. All these women were as inspirational and influential as their male contemporaries, if not more so. 

Despite being unable to work professionally as a musician, Marianna Martines had an enormous impact upon the Viennese and international music scene. Martines was a trailblazer in many ways. She was the first woman to receive the title of Accademia Filarmonica Onorata in 1773 (Honorary member of the Accademia Filharmonica Bologna). The Accademia was a prestigious musical institution at that time, and with this award, Marianna Martines broke the glass ceiling. After her admission, a stream of women were able to enter the Accademia in the following years, including Maria Rosa Coccia in 1779, Maria Brizzi Giorgi in 1806 and Marianna Bottini in 1820. 

Martines achieved a great deal of success – her talent and that of the women around her had a substantial impact on further generations of women. Female composers who arose after Martines’s death were able to work professionally, teach at music institutions and write larger scale orchestral works. For instance, Louise Farrenc became Professor of Piano at the Paris Conservatoire, fought and won equal pay there, and wrote three full-blown Romantic symphonies. (To learn more about Louise Farrenc, click here!) Also, German composer Emilie Mayer became Associate Director at Opera Academy in Berlin and wrote seven symphonies.

Marianna Martines’ Music 

Marianna Martines was a prolific composer, writing over 200 pieces, many of which have been published and recorded. Her earliest works come from 1760 when she was 16 years old, including two settings of the Catholic Mass. One of her Masses, Martines’s Mass No. 1 in D Major, was the inspiration and likely formed the model for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Mass K139 written in 1768. Marianna Martines went on to write for a range of ensembles. As well as many religious pieces, Marianna Martines wrote secular cantatas, keyboard music, and orchestral works. This includes the first ever known symphony written by a woman (called an Overture). Her Overture in C is a breathtaking work of vision, and it was finally recorded by La Floridiana in 2012, featured on their portrait album of Marianna Martines’s music.  

Sonata in E Major

Marianna Martines wrote Sonata in E Major when she was 21 years old, written in the traditional three-movement sonata form. The first movement is written as ‘Allegro’, followed by ‘Andante’ in the second movement, and back to ‘Allegro’ for the third movement for a fast-slow-fast arrangement, infused with a sense of energy throughout the entire piece. 

Also, keeping with the traditional sonata form, Martines introduces musical themes in the first movement and brings them back in the later movements, however, she does so in slightly unexpected ways, keeping listeners captivated throughout. 

Her Sonata in E Major, along with her sonata in A major and G major are amongst the absolute finest Classical era keyboard sonatas.

Dixit Dominus 

Music professor Irving Godt wrote an article for the Journal of Musicology in which he stated that Dixit Dominus “may well be [Martines’] masterpiece.” Dixit Dominus was written in 1773 as her admission piece to the Accademia Filharmonica di Bologna.

Dixit is a grand motet, a work for choir and orchestra alike, based on Psalm 110. Martines composed Dixit with six movements, each for a separate subdivision of the psalm. The piece itself is written for a five-part chorus, soloists, and a full orchestra. 

In particular, Martines’ vocal writing is incredibly rich, ornamenting the melody with numerous runs and trills. This ornamentation reflects the extravagant nature of God, ruling in splendor in heaven.  

The fourth and sixth movements of Dixit Dominus end with fugues. The verses in those movements consider the justice of God, appointing priests and judging the nations. The fugues themselves create a repetition of rising pitches, making it seem as though the chorus is stretching upward to God for absolution.  

Rather than shying away from the Viennese salon, Martines celebrates it. She adopts a few conventions of salon music and incorporates it into the piece, such as glissandos on the piano. At the time, some people regarded this as undignified because glissandos seemed like the pianist was showing off. However, by combining this technique with religious material, Martines showed that it could indicate God’s immense power.  

Dixit is simultaneously conservative and avant-garde. In spite (or perhaps because) of its sophistication, the work was never performed during her lifetime. 

Sant’Elena al Calvario 

Sant’Elena al Calvario is an oratorio. A few oratorios from Martines survive – she set many oratorios to lyrics by Metastasio as well as writing lyrics herself. 

The plot of Sant’Elena al Calvario follows Helen, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who embarks on a quest to find the cross on which Jesus was crucified. This in and of itself was quite empowering. The majority of Martines’s audience would have been male, and at the time Church doctrine regarded women as lesser members of the church. By focusing on Helen and centering the plot around her, Martines suggests that women had power in their own right.   

Martines shows Helen’s drive and resolve through several musical techniques. Act I repeats notes in the bass line, creating sounds like feet pounding on the ground. This indicates Helen pushing forward regardless of how much pain she is in. 

In the second section of the oratorio, the tempo slows down a bit. The tone of the vocals drops, and the orchestra’s bass line descends. This represents the physical struggle that Helen is enduring, and how she presses on nonetheless. 

When Helen reaches Jesus’s tomb, the orchestra drops away entirely. A new aria starts, in which she begins singing by herself. Helen is now on her own, consumed in her awe at reaching her savior’s burial site.  

Helen discusses the crucifixion with short phrases, each divided by a quick rest. This invokes a sense of breathlessness, as though her mind is agitated. But the tension soon subsides, and Helen returns to her adoration.

Marianna Martines is just one example of the numerous talented female composers throughout history. To celebrate this rich tradition with us and learn more about other women in music, read about Hildegard von Bingen and Ethel Smyth!

- Written by Elizabeth de Brito

Elizabeth de Brito is the founder and producer of The Daffodil Perspective, the first ever gender balanced, racially equitable and inclusive classical music radio show. She also works as a diverse repertoire consultant if you would like information on diverse composers and advice on inclusive programming. To learn more, visit www.thedaffodilperspective.org.

ALSO, CHECK OUT unCLASSIFIED’s Women of classical playlist, FEATURING WORKS FROM Marianna martines as well as ETHEL SMYTH, LOUISE FARRENC, JENNIFER HIGDON, FLORENCE PRICE, AND MORE!