Women in music - Marianna Martines

Marianna Martines (1744 - 1812)

Charles Barney, famous chronicler of the 18th century musical life, spent several weeks in Vienna in 1772 and on this occasion he met a female artist at the home Pietro Metastasio. This talented girl was Marianna Martines, one of those great female musicians, whose music was for a long time forgotten. The attention of the English historian was attracted primarily by her elegant appearance, as well as by musical talents for which he could hardly find adequate words. In his musical memoirs he emphasized the beauty of her voice, which captivated him with naturalness, grace, overall ease and perfect intonation. In addition to describing young Mariana Martines as "the most perfect singer he has ever heard", Barney also praised her masterful playing of the harpsichord. Barney then concluded: 

"She truly exceeded my expectations. She sang two arias, which she composed herself on Metastasio's verses and accompanied herself on the harpsichord in a sensitive and masterful way."

The Spaniards of Naples in Vienna

Her paternal grandfather was a Spanish soldier who lived in Naples, where Marianna's father, Niccolo Martines, was born. At first he wanted to continue in his father's footsteps and become a soldier, but he eventually changed his profession and received an appointment as maestro di camera in the papal service in Vienna. From the time he lived in Naples, one of the most important musical cities, dates Nicola's acquaintance with the famous librettist Pietro Metastasio, who received an invitation to serve as a poet in the court of Vienna in the 1830s. At the end, this writer spent the rest of his life in Vienna with the members of the Martines family. He was actually a key figure in the educational process of  talented Marianna, who was born in 1744 at the home of Pietro Metastasio on Michaelerplatz.

Pietro Metastasio

Music lessons with - the neighbors

At that time, it was common practice to rent appartments in a building according to one's own position in the society. Thus, at the time of Marianna's upbringing, a princess from the rich Esterhaza family, who was otherwise known for patronizing the arts, lived on the ground floor. The damp room in the attic of the building was occupied by Joseph Haydn, a young composer who was trying to break into the music world at the time.

Thanks to Metastasio's dedication as a mentor, Marianna has mastered performing and composing while studying music with excellent pedagogues, who were her first neighbors. She first studied the harpsichord with Joseph Haydn and at the age of ten she began singing under the watchful eye of Nicola Porpora. During singing lessons, she was accompanied by Haydn, who was then an assistant to the great Italian vocal coach. When she showed interest and ability to compose, she went in that direction to develop her potentials, studying with Johann Adolf Hasse and Giuseppe Bono. Marianna received her musical music education thanks to the social position of her family, which built strong ties in noble circles and made close contacts with the Austrian imperial family.

Nicola Porpora

Musical soirées in Marianna's home

Considering that she could not get any official appointment during life, Marianna Martines displayed her skills within the salons organized in her home. Such academies or soirées were places where many famous artists performed their compositions, and especially women who could only show their talent in such circumstances.

Unlike London and Paris, where a tradition of holding public concerts had already been developed, there was no such practice in Vienna during the reign of Maria Theresa and Joseph II, so friends and acquaintances gathered in the homes of wealthier citizens to discuss various topics. They also enjoyed listening to music. Those were the moments when Marianna was able to showcase her lavish performing and composing skills, as well as making important contacts with other artists such as Haydn or Mozart, with whom she often played on a single harpsichord in four hands.

"Thanks to her charming and unusually modest demeanor, coupled with artistic skills, she was respected by everyone and at the same time had access to the best homes in the city. Her Majesty Maria Theresa often demanded that she be in her company so that she could enjoy her art, and His Majesty Joseph II, equally sympathetic to music, used to turn the pages while Miss Martines played."

Marianna's ouvre

Marianna Martines was a prolific composer. She wrote vocal and instrumental works of different genres. She obviously wrote solo vocal compositions to perform them herself, and judging by the technical requirements of these works, one can conclude that she was an extraordinary singer, which is not surprising since her singing professor was Nicola Porpora, one of the greatest singing teachers of that time. Her oeuvre includes oratorios and secular cantatas, but also sacred music like masses, motets and litanies, as well as instrumental music such as sonatas and concerts. 

The highlight of her career was when she became a member of the prestigious Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna in 1773. At that time, she was the first woman to receive that honorable position.

Marianna Martines 

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga - "Spanish Mozart"

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga 
(1806-1826)

Arriaga and Mozart

On the day when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would have turned fifty, another very talented musician was born, who, it turned out, had several things in common with the far more famous Austrian composer. It was Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, whom the professors at the Paris Conservatory envisioned a fine music career. Even today, music historians think that this Spanish artist had a great potential, which, due to his untimely death, he was unable to develop.

"Arriaga had an identifiable and original style which, in time, undoubtedly would have become more individual and more recognizably his own."

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga was born on January 27, 1806, exactly five decades after famous Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The first two baptismal names of these musicians are the same - Mozart was Johannes Chrysostomus, and Arriaga was Juan Crisóstomo. The reasons why Arriaga was nicknamed "Spanish Mozart" were the premature deaths of both composers and the extraordinary talent they both showed from an early age. Therefore, they both belong to the group of child prodigies that have always fascinated the musical world throughout history, with some managing to ascend from that initial glory to the very top of the European music scene, while Arriaga, having died only ten days before he turned twenty, was forgotten after his death. Nor did Wolfgang manage to provide himself with a more stable life, although he worked intensively to achieve it during his short life. 

The Arriaga family

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga was born in the Basque city of Bilbao in a family that was fond of music. That affection came primarily from his father, Juan Simón, who developed a trading business, but nevertheless played organ and spinet. Arriaga's older brother, Ramón Prudencio, played the violin and the guitar, so it was obvious that JJuan Crisóstomo got his first lessons in music within the family circle. By the way, before and after Juan Crisóstomo, the Arriaga family had prominent representatives in society.

Given that his father loved music, he encouraged his extremely talented son, and it is no surprise that at the age of eleven he began composing serious chamber, orchestral and vocal works. His opera The Happy Slaves, written in 1820, was successfully performed in his hometown. Only the overture and a few fragments are preserved from the score of this piece.

Musical life in Bilbao

The city of Bilbao in Arriaga's time was a bustling harbor full of intense trade with the Spanish colonies in America. Because of this, it was often struck by invaders and survived many sieges. Musical life flourished and many musicians, professionals or amateurs, gathered in numerous salons. Among the most visited was the salon of Jose Luis de Torres, a prominent figure of that city, who was originally from Mexico. His salons were frequented by prominent musicians, organists and composers such as Juan Andres Lombida, Manuel Gamarra and Jose Sobejano. Guests included violinist Faust Sanz, Arriaga's teacher, young pianist Louise, the daughter of the host, as well as members of the Arriaga family. In addition to the salons, the Philharmonic Society was also active in Bilbao.

François-Joseph Fetis

Studies in Paris

Arriaga enrolled in the Paris Conservatory in 1821 and was taught harmony and counterpoint by François-Joseph Fetis, while attending violin classes with Pierre Baillot. His professor of composition praised him a lot:

"In less than three months, Arriaga has mastered harmony perfectly, and in two years, all the requirements of counterpoint and fugue. Nature has endowed him with two abilities that are rarely found in one artist: the ability to invent and the talent to fully master all the technical aspects of music."

Two years after he began studying music in Paris, he became the youngest professor in the history of the Conservatory. His professor Fetis entrusted him with teaching harmony, counterpoint and composition. In addition, Arriaga experienced another success - in 1824, the First Book of Quartets was published in Paris. On the cover there is a dedication to his father, who unfortunately never heard these compositions, since they were performed in Bilbao only in the late 19th century. Professor Fetis spoke highly of these Arriaga's works:

"... it is impossible to find something that is more original, elegant or more correctly written ... every time a young composer plays his quartets, he arouses audience admiration."

Shortly after he wrote these string quartets, Arriaga composed another of his masterpieces - Symphony in D major. It seems that it was performed during composer's life, because there are copies of the score with the names of the performers, and it can be concluded that the work was performed by members of the orchestra of the Paris Conservatory. These are the compositions on which his reputation is still based today.

At the end of 1825, he began to become ill due to feverish work that had disrupted his health. He was buried in Paris.

To commemorate the late composer, there is a plaque on the house in Saint-Onoré Street in Paris.

Plaque in honour of Arriaga

There is a theater in Arriaga's hometown that bears his name. It was built in neo-Baroque style in 1890.

Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao