The search for forgotten female composers leads us to focus here on Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen (1745-1818), Venetian virtuoso violinist whose violin concertos have already been recorded. His quartets op. 3 date from 1769. To situate them, it should be remembered that Haydn’s first major series, theOpus 9, also dates from 1769 and that Mozart’s “Milan quartets” were composed in 1772-1773. Haydn being considered the “father of the string quartet”, what we hear here is remarkable. What is not yet complete is the form, since the quartets op. 3 by Sirmen are ten-minute scores in which two movements with contrasting atmospheres oppose each other. On the other hand, in language, 25 years after Vivaldi’s death, Sirmen has resolutely turned the page on the Baroque, opening up to a gallant classicism. This music is not an imperishable inspiration, but it imposes itself as a precious musical milestone. The quartet’s playing is honorable in an “old fashioned” vein.
To see in video