Maddalena Laura Sirmen

Sirmen Maddalena, Maddalena Laura Lombardini also Sirmen, ( born December 9, 1745 in Venice, † May 15, 1818 ibid ) was a Venetian violinist, singer and composer.

Life and work

Maddalena was born in Venice as the daughter of Gasparina Gambirasi and Pietro Lombardini. Her musical training she received in 1753, after a shooting contest for free lessons in the Ospedale dei Mendicanti, one of the four prestigious music schools for girls in Venice. At the age of 14, she issued on Mendicanti already own violin lessons. From her own violin lessons with Giuseppe Tartini generates a dated from March 5, 1760 letter Tartini, in which he describes her his method of playing the violin. This letter is one of the authentic and important testimonies old performance practice. 1761 and 1764 was issued to the head of the Mendicanti permission to travel to Padua to perfect her violin with Tartini.

In 1767 they successfully produced at the heads of the Ospedale the request to dismiss from their obligations to marry a native of Ravenna Geiger Lodovico Sirmen. Sirmen time was concertmaster at the Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore in Bergamo.

In the same year she appeared with Sirmen on a concert tour that took them to Faenza, Turin and Paris. While Sirmen returned to Italy, she performed now without her husband. She traveled to London, where she gave concerts in three consecutive seasons, first as a violinist and later as a singer in oratorio. Their 1771 Six trio sonatas were first printed as Opus by John Welcker in London. From 1772 to 1773 William Napier brought her violin concertos out in 1773 published six Duets, Opus 4 In the same year an edited by Tommaso Giordani version for harpsichord their violin concertos was published. 1779 she appeared at the court of Dresden, where their fee was twice as high as that of the following on the payroll Italian singer at the court. 1784 she sang on the trip accompanied by her husband, in St. Petersburg; a year later she was back in Paris, where she probably first received bad reviews for her violin.

Maddalena and Ludovico Sirmen had a daughter. In the household Maddalena Sirmens in Venice was still alive an adopted daughter. Maddalena Sirmen had during her successful career their assets independently managed and propagated. With the collapse of Venice by Napoleon's invasion, she lost her fortune, she died on May 18, 1818 in Venice impoverished.

Maddalena Sirmens compositions are likely during their time at the Ospedale dei Mendicanti emerged to be there, performed by coro, the orchestra of the Ospedale. Her publications differ in the date of publication years and opus numbers: The " oevre première " published in 1770 in Amsterdam their six trios, their six string quartets, however, as " Opera III " were first published in 1769 in Paris and taking her and her husband's name. Today is a co-authorship of research Ludovico Sirmens doubted. This string quartets is today accorded considerable importance in the history of the string quartet as the string quartets of Joseph Haydn's Opus 9, which appeared simultaneously in Paris. The notes of her pieces were owned by Leopold Mozart.

Works

• 6 Trios for Two Violins and Cello, Op 1
• 6 Violin Concertos, Op 2 [No. 1-3] and op 3 [No. 1-6]

• 6 String Quartets Op 3
• 6 Duets for Two Violins, Op 4
• Sonata for Violin and Basso continuo in A major, Vienna 1785
• Trio for Two Violins and Cello in B flat major, Ms.

Discography

• String Quartets by Emilie Mayer, Fanny Mendelssohn and Maddalena Laura Sirmen. Erato Quartet Basel, Cpo Records ( 2000).
• Violin Concertos Nos. 1-6 op.3. Piroska Vitarius and the Savaria Baroque Orchestra, Hungaroton.

Swell

• A letter from the late Signor Tartini to Signora Maddalena Lombardini ( now Signora Sirmen ) as published at important lesson to performers on the violin. London, 1779. [ Engl Translation]. Full text.