MARIANNE Von MARTINEZ (1744 - 1812), force behind Joseph Haydn and the most brilliant woman in Vienna. Marianne’s family was musical and well-connected with a beautiful house on the Michaelerplatz and when she was seven, a penniless young Haydn showed up wanting to rent out their attic. He took her on as a pupil, they became friends, and it was she that introduced him to all the good and great in Vienna in her weekly musical soirées - including the Esterhazys, who would later employ him for life. So that’s as far as that goes. Meanwhile, Marianne was a brilliant pianist and composer and singer in her own right. Famous throughout Europe for her masses. First woman to be admitted to the famed Filarmonica Academy of Bologna. Piano duet partner with another of her friends, Mozart. Wrote in every genre including sonatas, concertos, songs, a ton of church music and one symphony. She never married …
Presented by composer Joan Tower for International Women’s Month in March, written and produced with Charlotte Wilson for WMHT
