cases
represent as many as six or eight revisions.
Her compositions have won praise from the greatest musicians, and show
merit of a high order. Among her dramatic works, the most successful in
point of performance are "Rinaldo and Alcina," a fairy opera
(appreciated in its day much as "Hansel and Gretel" is in our own), the
melodrama "Ariadne and Bacchus," and the pastoral operetta "Der
Schulcandidat." Her other works include a piano trio, a number of
sonatas and variations for piano, several songs and other vocal works,
besides a few cantatas. Her remarkable gifts won her the friendship of
the foremost musicians of her time. Among others Mozart admired her
greatly, and dedicated a concerto to her.
Another figure of musical importance was Marianne Martinez. Born at
Vienna in 1744, she began her musical studies while still a child. Her
first efforts at composition were made when she was twelve years old,
and met with a most favourable reception, though of course they cannot
compare with her later productions. She was an excellent pianist, or
what would correspond to a pianist in our day, and among her teachers on
the harpsichord was Haydn himself. She became equally proficient in
singing, under the great teacher, Porpora, and the historian Burney
speaks of her vocal accomplishments with unstinted praise.
Among the works of her maturer period, her church music ranks highest
of all. Her oratorio "Isacco," with words by Metastasio, is her
worthiest production, and met with deserved success when performed at
Vienna in 1788. Besides this work, she composed two other oratorios, a
successful mass, a four-part Miserere, a number of psalms for four and
eight voices, with orchestral accompaniment, several motets, and many
other pieces of a religious character. The list of her works does not
end here, but comprises symphonies, overtures, and other orchestral
numbers, including several piano concertos. Taken as a whole, her works
entitle her to a worthy place among women composers of all time.
Leaving the eighteenth century, the next woman composer of note is
Emilie Zumsteeg. Born at Stuttgart in 1796, she soon showed that she had
inherited the musical taste of her father, himself a well-known
composer. On his death, six years later, the widow supported herself by
keeping a music-store, where the growing daughter absorbed much
knowledge of the art. Soon she began regular study, and won her way into
notice by her singing an
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