Maddalena Laura Sirmen

{{Short description|Italian composer, musician, and singer (1745–1818)}}

{{Infobox classical composer

| name = Maddalena Laura Sirmen

| image = Adélaïde Labille-Guiard - Portrait of a painter, cropped.jpg

| caption = Portrait of Maddalena Laura Sirmen

| birth_name = Maddalena Laura Lombardini

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1745|12|9|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Venice, Italy

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1818|5|18|1745|12|9|df=yes}}

| death_place = Venice, Italy

| spouse = {{Marriage|Ludovico Sirmen|1769}}

}}

Maddalena Laura Sirmen{{efn|({{IPA|it|maddaˈlena ˈlawra}})}}{{efn|The surname is also spelled as Syrmen or Ceriman; most of her compositions were published under the name Syrmen.}} ({{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

= Birth and background =

Maddalena Laura Lombardini{{sfn|Grove|1954|p=821}} was born on 9 December 1745 in Venice, Italy.{{sfn|Arnold|Berdes|2002|p=8}} Her parents, Signor Piero Lombardini and his wife, Signora Gasparina (née Gambirasi){{sfn|Arnold|Berdes|2002|p=8}} were poor, though came from noble origins.

At a young age, Maddalena showed musical talent and later began her studies at San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti.{{Cite web |last1=Morgenstern |first1=Anja |title=Maddalena Sirmen |url=https://mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de/receive/mugi_person_00000774 |access-date=November 5, 2024 |language=Dutch |date=May 21, 2009}} Whilst attending San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti, Maddalena received Violin lessons from Giuseppe Tartini, visiting him in Padua, Italy.{{Cite web |last1=Morgenstern |first1=Anja |title=Maddalena Sirmen |url=https://mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de/receive/mugi_person_00000774 |access-date=November 5, 2024 |language=Dutch |date=May 21, 2009}}

= Career (1767–1785) =

File:Catherine II by A.Albertrandi after Rokotov.jpg, {{circa|1780s}}]]

In 1767, Maddalena graduated from San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti and was given an opportunity to pursue an independent musical career in Venice.{{sfn|Scarpa|1978}} In the autumn of 1767, Maddalena married Violinist Ludovico Sirmen.Centre d'études Franco-Italien, 1985

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".{{sfn|Pendle|1991|p=114}}

In 1773, Maddalena performed as a singer in London, United Kingdom, music critics expressed that vocals only distracted her from improving her violin playing.{{sfn|Marion|1933|pp=149–163}} In Russia, she worked with her husband during the spring of 1783 to September 1784, performing as a violinist and singer at the court of Catherine II.{{Cite web |last1=Morgenstern |first1=Anja |title=Maddalena Sirmen |url=https://mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de/receive/mugi_person_00000774 |access-date=November 5, 2024 |language=Dutch |date=May 21, 2009}}

In 1785, in Paris, France, Maddalena delivered her last performance as a violinist,{{efn|Critics claimed that her playing style was outdated and did not correspond to the spirit of the times.}} After she ended her solo career, Maddalena returned back to Italy, where she died on 18 May 1818 at the age of 72.{{Cite web |last1=Morgenstern |first1=Anja |title=Maddalena Sirmen |url=https://mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de/receive/mugi_person_00000774 |access-date=November 5, 2024 |language=Dutch |date=May 21, 2009}}

Notes

References

= Citations =

= Works cited =

{{Cite book |last=Grove |first=George |editor-first=Blom |editor-last=Eric |author-link= |date=January 1, 1954 |title=The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians |url=https://www.amazon.com/Groves-Dictionary-Music-Musicians-Fifth/dp/B000GFPM5M |volume=VII |edition=5 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |page=821 |asin=B000GFPM5M |access-date=November 6, 2024}}
{{Cite book |last1=Arnold |first1=Elsie |last2=Berdes |first2=Jane L. |date=2002 |title=Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen: Eighteenth-century Composer, Violinist, and Businesswoman |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Maddalena_Lombardini_Sirmen.html?id=umYIAQAAMAAJ |publisher=Scarecrow Press |p=8 |isbn=9780810841079 |access-date=November 6, 2024}}
{{Cite journal |last=Scarpa |first=Jolando |date=1978 |title=Arte e musica all'Ospedaletto: schede d'archivio sull'attività musicale degli Ospedali dei Derelitti e dei Mendicanti di Venezia |trans-title=Art and music at the Ospedaletto: archive notes on the musical activity of the Hospitals of the Derelitti and Mendicanti of Venice |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Arte_e_musica_all_Ospedaletto.html?id=ZY15mwEACAAJ |publisher=Venice Printing House Ed |journal=Institutions for Care and Education (Venice) |access-date=November 6, 2024}}
{{Cite book |last=Pendle |first=Karin |date=1991 |title=Women & Music: A History |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Women_Music.html?id=2xj0AAAAMAAJ&source=kp_book_description |publisher=Indiana University Press |p=114 |isbn=0253343216 |access-date=November 6, 2024}}
{{Cite book |last=Marion |first=Scott |title=Maddalena Lombardini, Madame Syrmen |url=https://academic.oup.com/ml/article-abstract/XIV/2/149/1141069 |date=April 1, 1933 |access-date=November 6, 2024}}