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Donald Macleod follows English music historian Charles Burney to Vienna and his encounter with Martines.

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.

Perhaps one of the reasons Martines never left Vienna was that, as her fame grew, she found that the world was coming to her. One important visitor was the English writer on music, Charles Burney. Burney had already heard reports of Metastasio’s protégé Marianna Martines, but, on meeting her, he was enchanted by her musical prowess as a composer and performer.

Keyboard Concerto in G
La Floridiana
Nicoleta Paraschievescu, harpsichord and director

Il primo amore
Nuria Rial, soprano
La Floridiana
Nicoleta Paraschivescu, director

Sonata in G for harpsichord (Allegro assai)
Nicoleta Paraschivescu, harpsichord

La Tempesta
Anna Bonitatibus, mezzo-soprano
La Floridiana
Nicoleta Paraschivescu, director

Produced by Luke Whitlock, for Â鶹Éç Wales