Italian composer and harp teacher Marianna Bottini was born into a noble family. She studied the piano and counterpoint with Domenico Quilici.
Bottini was admitted to the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna as “Honorary Master Composer” because of the “Stabat Mater” and “Requiem Mass” she wrote in 1819, in her mother’s memory.
Just a handful of women managed to break through the high barriers to admittance to such an exclusive association for the top musicians and composers in Europe at the time. When she was allowed in at just 18, she was only the fourth woman in history to earn that distinction.
Most of her compositions were created in her youth, between the ages of 13 and 20.
That includes arias, duets and other works for the refined salons of the Lucchese nobility, according to Grove Music Online.
Bottini married prominent Lucchese political figure Lorenzo Bottini in 1823.
She was the only woman to provide compositions for the traditional Lucchese festival to honor Saint Cecilia between 1822 and 1840.
She was born in Lucca, Italy, on Nov. 7, 1802.
