The composer and performer Marianna Martines (1744-1812) was a prominent figure in 18th‑century Vienna. Her academies were a fixture in the musical and social life of Vienna, she received many accolades as a composer and was praised by her contemporaries as an outstanding performer, as well as a highly educated interlocutrice. During the 19th century, however, the music of Martines, like that of so many other 18th-century composers, was discredited into oblivion. If at all, she was remembered as an obscure figure, who is still relatively marginalised in today’s canon and historiography.
In-depth studies on the life and works of Martines come far between: Both the monograph by Irving Godt and the doctoral dissertation by Karen Lynn Fremar are primarily concerned with biographical groundwork and situate her repertoire within the galant style as defined by Gjerdingen. Other than that, Martines’ life or analyses of select works found their ways only into a small number of anthologies or edited books. What remains to be explored further is her life situated within the social hierarchies of 18th-century Vienna, thoroughly examined under a gender lens, and her keyboard music from historical and contemporary performance perspectives, as well as an expression of personal agency, seeing as she most likely wrote these pieces with herself as a performer in mind.
Bridging the gap between gender-critical scholarship, musical analysis and performance studies, this thesis shall provide deep insight into the make-up of Martines’ music with the backdrop of Habsburg-ruled 18th-century Vienna.
Publications
Judith Valerie Engel. 2023. Treasure Chests and Monuments. Review. In: Early Music [forthcoming].
Judith Valerie Engel. 2022. Clavichord, harpsichord, forte piano and organ. Review. In: Early Music, Vol. 50 No. 4 (Nov. 22), p. 538-540.
Conference Papers
Judith Valerie Engel, John Pfumojena. 2023. Concert as Ritual. Zimbabwean and Western Classical music traditions in dialogue, The UoW Annual Black Music Symposium at the British Library, London.
Judith Valerie Engel, Joshua S. Bamford, John Pfumojena. 2023. ‘Mbira and Piano. A case-study of cross-cultural musical dialogue at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford’, GAPS2 – Global Arts and Psychology Seminar, York, Graz, Melbourne, La Plata.
Judith Valerie Engel. 2023. ‘Marianna Martines – reframing gendered identity’. Women’s Work in Music Conference, Bangor University.
Judith Valerie Engel. 2023. ‘Women’s musical agency in 18th century Vienna’. Doctors in Performance Conference, Royal Academy London.
Public Lectures and Seminars
June 2023: The Oxford Italian Association, Lecture Recital ‘Marianna Martines (1744-1812): An ‘Italian’ composer in Vienna’
April 2023: The Loft Forum, Pune (India), Guest lecture ‘Marianna Martines – tracing an identity’
April 2023: The Poona Music Society, Pune (India), Lecture Recital ‘Welcome to the Salon’
April 2023: NCPA Mumbai (India), Lecture Recital ‘Welcome to the Salon’
Feb. 2023: University of Oxford, Research Colloquium, Faculty of Music, ‘Marianna Martines – tracing an identity’
Oct. 2022: Northampton Bach Choir, pre-concert lecture ‘Marianna Martines 1744-1812. Being a woman composer and musician in 18th century Vienna’
Oct. 2021: University of Oxford, Faculty of Music, Oxford Seminar in Music Theory & Analysis, Roundtable discussion on Haydn & Keller
In the media
Joachim Brügge. 2023. Interviews – Musik-Professionals im Gespräch. Judith Valerie Engel, Klavier. In: Claus Bockmaier, Joachim Brügge (ed.). Kanon im Repertoire und in der musikalischen Praxis. Essays und Interviews. Munich: Allitera, p. 273-282.
Barbara Weissenbeck. 2020. Marianna von Martines – die Vergessene Komponistin [Documentary film, featuring Judith Valerie Engel].
Thomas Manhart. 2018. Frauen haben es oft schwerer. In: Salzburger Nachrichten 6 October 2018, p. 12. [newspaper interview with JudithValerie Engel].
Barbara Petsch. 2017. Mathematik ist mir stets leicht gefallen. In: Die Presse 25 September 2017, p. 48. [newspaper interview with JudithValerie Engel].
