Donald Macleod looks at Martines’s final years when she became fully independent.

Marianna Martines lived and worked in Vienna alongside some of classical music’s greatest names. She was tutored by Haydn, played piano duets with Mozart, corresponded with Padre Martini and Farinelli, and was frequently invited to perform for the Imperial Court. For nearly 40 years, she was mentored by Metastasio, Europe’s most celebrated opera librettist. Martines became a significant personality in Viennese cultural circles with her works regularly performed in the city, and commissions and honours coming her way from across Europe. All this week, Donald Macleod is joined by Dr Jeremy Llewellyn to lift the veil on this long neglected yet prolific and highly celebrated composer and discover the unique perspective her story provides on cultural life in Vienna during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

When her longstanding mentor, Metastasio, died he left Marianna Martines a generous financial bequest, along with his musical instruments and scores. Marianna and her siblings were now able to move to a more spacious and prestigious apartment in Vienna where she regularly hosted one of the most popular and important music gatherings in the city. She also established her own singing academy.

Santa Elena al Calvario (excerpt)
Ilona Domnich, soprano
BBC Concert Orchestra
Jane Glover, conductor

Il nido degli amori
Anna Bonitatibus, mezzo-soprano
La Floridiana
Nicoleta Paraschivescu, director

WA Mozart
Sonata for two pianos in D, K448 (Allegro con spirito)
Martha Argerich, piano
Sergey Babayan, piano

Marianna Martines
Orgoglioso fiumciello
Anna Bonitatibus, mezzo-soprano
La Floridiana
Nicoleta Paraschivescu, director

Produced by Luke Whitlock, for BBC Wales Show less