Maddalena Lombardi-Sirmen (1745-1818)

Maddalena Lombardi was not born into a family of musicians, though certainly had some natural talent for the violin. She was admitted to the Ospedale dei Mendicanti in Venice in 1753 as a violinist. In 1760 she was invited to study with Tartini in Milan, but travel issues prevented the meeting. However, Tartini described his method to Lombardi via letter; this letter morphed into an influential violin treatise, which was in print throughout Europe by 1770. In 1766 she married violinist Lodovico Sirmen and the couple began a whirlwind concert tour of Europe. By 1771, Lodovico had settled in Italy with their daughter, all while Maddalena remained in London for a two-season stint as a concert violinist. Her music for strings (mostly quartets and pieces for solo violin, as well as a few concertos) was well known during her lifetime and even published throughout Europe.