Biography
Marianna was born to minor nobility in 1744, living in the same apartment building as several musical tenants, including Joseph Haydn. Another tenant, simply known as Metastasio, took great interest in Marianna as a child, arranging for her to take lessons in opera with Porpora, harpsichord with Haydn, and eventually composition with the court composer, Giuseppe Bonno. Her first full composition was a symphonic mass when she was sixteen years old, and from that year onward she proceeded to compose at least one piece each year for the next 25 years.
She soon moved from liturgical pieces to secular music, despite the universal acclaim for her masses. This change in composition can be attributed to the change in leadership in Vienna in 1760, leading to a reform of simpler church music and a ban on women singing during services. Besides her masses, Marianna also wrote psalm settings before the reform.
After the reform, she became known for her piano and harpsichord compositions. She was contracted to compose for various important people of the court, though it would have been unacceptable for her to have an official title in this position as a woman. Even so, she received the highest honor that any non-court or church composer could receive, the title Accademica Filarmonica Onorata, the first female composer to ever receive the title.
Marianna was not only a composer, but also a well-respected pianist. Mozart wrote several pieces for her to perform, and Haydn attended her performances. She also opened singing school for young girls at the estate she inherited from Metastasio; she lived there with her family and took her teaching very seriously. As her voice failed, she educated a new generation to properly perform her cantatas.
Even though she was forced to abandon liturgical composition, Marianna composed more than 13 major liturgical works in her lifetime. By the nineteenth century, her compositions fell out of favor as debates concerning whether or not women possessed creativity gained popularity, but through a modern lens they can again be appreciated as they were during her life. Her success in both sacred and secular compositions and her relationships with other influential composers solidifies her importance to composition on the whole, and specifically to female composition; her success paved the way for future female composers and performers.¹ ²