Maddalena Laura Sirmen
Maddalena Laura Sirmen | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Maddalena Laura Sirmen | |
| Born | Maddalena Laura Lombardini 9 December 1745 |
| Died | 18 May 1818 (aged 72) Venice, Italy |
| Spouse |
Ludovico Sirmen (m. 1769) |
Maddalena Laura Sirmen[a][b] (née Lombardini; 9 December 1745 – 18 May 1818), commonly known as Madame Sirmen, was an Italian composer, violinist, and opera singer of the musical Classical period.
Biography
[edit]Birth and background
[edit]Maddalena Laura Lombardini[1] was born on 9 December 1745 in Venice, Italy.[2][3] Her parents, Signor Piero Lombardini and his wife, Signora Gasparina (née Gambirasi),[2] were poor, though they came from noble origins.
At a young age, Maddalena showed musical talent and later began her studies at San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti.[4] Whilst attending San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti, Maddalena received violin lessons from Giuseppe Tartini, visiting him in Padua, Italy.[4] By the age of fourteen, she was teaching violin.[3]
Career (1767–1785)
[edit]
In 1767, Maddalena graduated from San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti and was given an opportunity to pursue an independent musical career in Venice.[5] In the autumn of 1767, Maddalena married violinist Ludovico Sirmen, after which time she was known as Laura Lombardini Sirmen di Ravenna.[6][3]
An early critical notice she received as an adult performer was from Quirino Gasparini, who wrote:
- "She won the hearts of all the people of Turin with her playing . . . I wrote to old Tartini last Saturday telling him the good news. It will make him all the happier, since this student of his plays his violin compositions with such perfection that it is obvious she is his descendant".[7]
Maddalena and her husband embarked on a two-year tour in 1768, travelling to Turin, Paris, and then in 1770 to London.[3] She made her debut as a soloist in London in January 1771 at the King's Theatre.[3] In 1773, Maddalena performed as a singer in London, where music critics expressed that vocals only distracted her from improving her violin playing.[8] She gave more than two hundred performances in London, including her own concertos.[3] In Russia, she worked with her husband from the spring of 1783 to September 1784, performing as a violinist and singer at the court of Catherine II.[4]
In 1785, in Paris, Maddalena delivered her last performance as a violinist.[c] After she ended her solo career, Maddalena returned to Italy, where she died on 18 May 1818 at the age of 72.[4]
Notes
[edit]- ^ (Italian pronunciation: [maddaˈlena ˈlawra])
- ^ The surname is also spelled as Syrmen or Ceriman; most of her compositions were published under the name Syrmen.
- ^ Critics claimed that her playing style was outdated and did not correspond to the spirit of the times.
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Grove 1954, p. 821.
- ^ a b Arnold & Berdes 2002, p. 8.
- ^ a b c d e f Sadie, Julie Anne; Samuel, Rhian, eds. (1994). The New Grove Dictionary of Women Composers (1st ed.). MacMillan. p. 287. ISBN 0-333-515986.
- ^ a b c d Morgenstern, Anja (May 21, 2009). "Maddalena Sirmen" (in Dutch). Retrieved November 5, 2024.
- ^ Scarpa 1978.
- ^ Centre d'études Franco-Italien, 1985
- ^ Pendle 1991, p. 114.
- ^ Marion 1933, pp. 149–163.
Works cited
[edit]- Grove, George (January 1, 1954). Eric, Blom (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. VII (5 ed.). St. Martin's Press. p. 821. ASIN B000GFPM5M. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- Arnold, Elsie; Berdes, Jane L. (2002). Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen: Eighteenth-century Composer, Violinist, and Businesswoman. Scarecrow Press. p. 8. ISBN 9780810841079. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- Scarpa, Jolando (1978). "Arte e musica all'Ospedaletto: schede d'archivio sull'attività musicale degli Ospedali dei Derelitti e dei Mendicanti di Venezia" [Art and music at the Ospedaletto: archive notes on the musical activity of the Hospitals of the Derelitti and Mendicanti of Venice]. Institutions for Care and Education (Venice). Venice Printing House Ed. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- Pendle, Karin (1991). Women & Music: A History. Indiana University Press. p. 114. ISBN 0253343216. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- Marion, Scott (April 1, 1933). Maddalena Lombardini, Madame Syrmen. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
External links
[edit]
- 1745 births
- 1818 deaths
- 18th-century Italian composers
- 18th-century Italian women composers
- 19th-century Italian classical composers
- 19th-century Italian women composers
- Italian Classical-period composers
- Italian classical violinists
- Italian women classical composers
- Pupils of Giuseppe Tartini
- Italian string quartet composers
- Italian women classical violinists
- Italian women music educators
- Musicians from Venice
- 18th-century Venetian people
- 18th-century Venetian women
- Musicians from the Republic of Venice