A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Martinez, Marianne
MARTINEZ, MARIANNE,
Was the daughter of a gardener of Vienna. One day the poet Metastasio met her in the street, when she was a very little child; she was singing some popular air. Her voice and her vivacity pleased the poet, and he offered her parents to educate her. They accepted his proposals, and he kept his promises. Nothing was neglected to make the young girl an artist. She had the good fortune to receive lessons in music, and on the harpsichord, from Haydn, whose genius was not yet famous; and Porpora taught her the art of singing, and the science of composition. Her progress was rapid; she played with neatness and grace; she sang beautifully, and her compositions showed a vigour of conception together with extensive learning. She reunited the qualities of many distinguished artists. Dr. Burney, who knew her at Venice, in 1772, speaks of her with admiration. Metastasio bequeathed to her all his property. In 1796 she lived at Vienna, in affluence, and gave weekly concerts at her house, where she received all the musical celebrities. Dr. Burney cites with high eulogy many of her sonatas, and her cantatas on words of Metastasio. She composed a miserere, with orchestral accompaniment. Gerbert had a mass and an oratorio written by her.