Marianna Martines (portrait painting by Anton von Maron, a pupil of Pietro Metastasio, photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art, from Wikimedia Commons)
Signum Classics (also known as Signum Records) has made a name for itself in providing releases of “previously un-heard music” (quotation from their Web page). This Friday will see the release of an album on which not only the music selections but also the composer are likely to be unfamiliar to most listeners. The neglected composer is Marianna Martines, who is known (by those that know anything at all of her biography) for having been a favorite four-hands partner for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The new album has a cover that claims to account for Martines’ complete keyboard works. The release consists of two CDs, the first of which presents all four of her keyboard concertos. The second CD then presents three solo keyboard sonatas followed by a single instrumental sinfonia. The pianist on the album is Idith Meshulam Korman, and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey.
This is the sort of release that is likely to find its way into listening parties. Whoever is in charge has the honor of playing a track from the album and then asking everyone else, “Who composed this?” My guess is that anyone quick enough to reply with Martines’ name is someone with close ties to Signum!
To be fair, I have now listened to this album several times; and the experience has been consistently engaging. There are even a few “gestural surprises” that spring up every now and then. If Spock were as serious about listening to classical music as I am, I suspect that his eyebrow might get raised more times than I could count!
Nevertheless, I feel it is more important that individual compositions find their way into the repertoire of ensembles that have established faithful audiences. Here in San Francisco, that would mean the San Francisco Symphony; but, given the historical context, I suspect that the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra would be just as worthy of the undertaking. I dare not speculate on how this music will be received on the “other coast” or in other major cities for concert music, such as Chicago and Cleveland. All that really matters, however, is that I shall have to find space for a new plant in my garden!
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