| 1770 | Marianna Martines | Sinfonia (Overture) in C major | |
| Instrumentation | Strings, 2 oboes or flutes, 2 horns | ||
| Movements | I: Allegro con spirito (C) II: Andante ma non troppo (G) III: Allegro spiritoso (C) Listen to the whole piece | ||
| Overview | Martines is the first known female composer to write a symphony. This is her only surviving symphonic work but it is likely she wrote others, just as it is also likely that other female composers wrote symphonies at the around the same time or earlier which have not been preserved. In an era that often resisted women taking a public role in any profession, Martines, who lived in Vienna and counted Haydn and Mozart as colleagues, managed to tread a fine line in being accepted and acclaimed as a musician. She was the first woman inducted into the illustrious Accademia filarmonica of Bologna, and was evidently an extremely accomplished singer and harpsichord player. Charles Burney (who called Stamitz’s orchestra in Mannheim an ‘army of generals’) wrote that her performance of her own songs ‘surpassed all that I had been made to expect’. Other women composers in Vienna (notably Coccia) were subject to a public backlash against their professional careers but three factors most probably helped Martines to prevail: 1) her many professional connections partly made through performing at and hosting musical soirees 2) the support of her mentor Metastasio (who wrote opera librettos for Mozart among others) 3) careful management of her public persona by portraying herself as a dilettante and publishing her lighter works rather than her more learned ones. | ||
| Essay Points | |||
| A) Overall form | Martines initially titled this work as an Overture and it is a clear example of how the origins of the symphony lie in Italian opera, which often opened with a sequence of fast-slow-fast movements in binary form. Overall the sinfonia is clearly in the Galant style, in particular its elegant middle movement and the lively finale. The first movement, however, is full of dramatic gestures and contrasts (perhaps reflecting Martines background as primarily a vocal composer) that is comparable to the dramatic style of C.P.E. Bach. | ||
| B) 1st mov. / sonata | The first movement is, like Stamitz Op. 3 and Haydn 2, in an extended binary form. It is more taut and dynamic than the Stamitz with harmonic and tonal twists and turns more reminiscent of CPE Bach. The movement divides into two halves each with two clear subjects, transition, and closing material. Ex. 1: Opening of first movement: Tonally the first half describes a modulation to the dominant but the second half is much more exploratory, starting S1 in the dominant and going through a range of keys, including G and E minors on the way back to the tonic. Ex. 2: Beginning of second half: | ||
| C) 2nd mov. | This is an elegant and lyrical Andante in the dominant key (G major). It is in binary form but has hints of the slow movement sonata form that increasingly became the norm in the mature Classical style. There is an exposition and recapitulation but no development. Ex. 3: Opening of second movement | ||
| G) Harm. / tonality | The harmony has the directness of the Galant style, with lots of primary and cadential harmonies. The first movement also has the strong sense of symphonic drama found in Stamitz and Haydn, with energetic dominant pedals, sometimes followed by pauses. However, Martines also makes use of diminished sevenths and sudden, dramatic changes from, for example, G major to minor, as well as some interesting modulations in the second half of the movement. | ||
| M) Patronage and commission | Martines was born into a relatively wealthy family in Vienna, who had moved from Spain and Italy to work in the Austrian Empire. She showed an early talent for singing, keyboard and composition and was mentored by the poet, librettist and family friend Metastasio, whose texts were used most famously in Mozart’s operas. He arranged lessons with Hasse and Haydn and, while still a child, Martines impressed the Imperial court, where she continued to perform throughout her life. Martines and her sister looked after Metastasio as he got older, and he left all his estate to them when he died. This gave Martines the financial and social clout to organise musical events featuring both her and other prominent Viennese musicians. Her success partly comes from the fact that. although both accomplished and very active, she didn’t seek appointed positions, therefore avoiding the hostility attracted by female contemporaries who dared to compete in this male-dominated domain. | ||
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