The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School IN THE SHADOW OF GREATNESS: WOMEN COMPOSERS AND THEIR FLUTE SONATAS AT THE PRUSSIAN COURT, 1730-1771 A Thesis in Music by Sheila Joy Hornberger © 2020 Sheila Joy Hornberger Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts May 2020 ii The thesis of Sheila Joy Hornberger was reviewed and approved* by the following: Marica S. Tacconi Professor of Musicology Thesis Advisor Mark C. Ferraguto Associate Professor of Musicology R J David Frego Director of the School of Music iii ABSTRACT The Prussian Court at Berlin during the reign of Frederick the Great (1740-1786) was well known as an epicenter of musical activity during the Enlightenment; it attracted many famed composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Johann Hasse. Composers Johann Joachim Quantz, CPE Bach, Johann Kirnberger, and Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg wrote their famous treatises while working at this court, which helped to further knowledge of music and music theory. Frederick the Great was also widely known for his musicality, and he left over one hundred compositions for posterity. While historians have credited the flute-playing king for creating this musical renaissance in Prussia after the death of his philistinian father, the contributions of his musical sisters, Wilhelmine von Bayreuth and Anna Amalia of Prussia have been largely ignored. The presence of a third woman composer, Anna Bon di Venezia, also remains largely unrecognized in musicological circles. It should be of little surprise, however, that this newly enlightened Prussian court enabled the musical advancement of these talented women. Wilhelmine and Anna Amalia developed strong familial bonds with Frederick due to their shared interests and abilities in music, and both sisters became devout patronesses of music in their own rights. It is through Wilhelmine’s auspices that the sixteen-year old Anna Bon appeared at Bayreuth in the highly respected position of Virtuosa di Camera, after being trained in Venice’s famed Ospedale della Pietà. In my thesis, I will review significant flute sonatas by each of these women with a detailed musical analysis, in order to call attention to their works while underlining their importance in the repertoire. I will also discuss circumstances at the Prussian court that allowed for the presence of three women of exceptional musical talent and discuss their exclusion from the canon. Finally, I will discuss why it would better serve the music community to incorporate iv women composers, and especially early women composers back into the Western Music canon, and how this might be achieved going forward. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. vii Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1 The State of Music in Prussia ................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2 Margravine Wilhelmine von Bayreuth ................................................................... 17 Chapter 3 Anna Amalia, Princess of Prussia .......................................................................... 30 Chapter 4 Anna Bon di Venezia ............................................................................................. 42 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 56 vi List of Figures 1.1 Flute Concert at Sanssouci, by Adolph Menzel (1852) ...................................................... 14 2.1 Manuscript, Flute Sonata in A minor, Wilhelmine von Bayreuth ...................................... 24 2.2 Opening, first movement, Flute Sonata in A minor ............................................................ 26 2.3 Opening, second movement, Flute Sonata in A minor ....................................................... 27 2.4 Opening, third movement, Flute Sonata in A minor .......................................................... 28 3.1 Opening, first movement, Flute Sonata in F major, Anna Amalia of Prussia ................... 39 3.2 Opening, second movement, Flute Sonata in F major ....................................................... 40 3.3 Opening, third movement, Flute Sonata in F major .......................................................... 41 4.1 Manuscript cover, Flute Sonata IV in D major, Anna Bon di Venezia .............................. 51 4.2 Opening, first movement, Flute Sonata IV in D major ...................................................... 52 4.3 Opening, second movement, Flute Sonata IV in D major .................................................. 53 4.4 Opening, third movement, Flute Sonata IV in D major ..................................................... 54 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dedicated to my husband Frank DuMont, who has always been my biggest fan and advocate, my parents David and Nancy, who never told me there was anything I couldn’t do, my colleague, Michael Divino, for always being supportive and commiserating with me, and to my advisors Dr. Tacconi and Dr. Ferraguto, for their valuable time, generous insight, and infinite patience. 1 Introduction Frederick the Great of Prussia (1712-1786) has long been considered the “musical king”; his court at Berlin offered many opportunities for composers and performers seeking a royal appointment. A flute player, Frederick employed Johann Joachim Quantz, Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach, Carl Heinrich Graun, and Franz Benda, all of whom contributed greatly to the flute repertoire. Frederick himself composed 121 flute sonatas, four flute concerti, four books of solfeggio, several marches, arias, and cantatas, as well as four symphonies.1 Also during this time, Quantz published his famous treatise on the flute and musical taste. Clearly, Frederick’s court was a hotbed of musical culture. Thus, it should be unsurprising that in this fertile environment, three women composers emerged with their own flute compositions. Certain aspects of music, such as singing and playing keyboard instruments were long thought to be an acceptable activity for young women of stature. However, these activities were not the standard at Frederick William’s court; the family patriarch abhorred music and was indifferent to culture. Despite this, Frederick II began studying flute with Johann Joachim Quantz in 1728. When Frederick II succeeded the throne upon his father’s death in 1740, he was free to pursue music as he wished. Sharing his talents and interests, it is not surprising that two of his own sisters would become not only patrons of music, but also composers and performers. Anna Amalia, his youngest sister, and eldest sister Wilhelmina, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, were both drawn into Frederick’s musical world. Princess Anna Amalia (1723-1787) began her musical instruction, encouraged by her mother after the death of her father, Frederick William I of Prussia, by studying with her brother. 1 Andrea Kapell Loewy, “Frederick the Great, Flutist and Composer,” College Music Symposium 20, No. 2 (1990), 118. 2 Later, she studied counterpoint and composition with Johann Philip Kirnberger, who himself had been a student of J.S. Bach’s.2 She is now remembered as a composer in her own right, but mostly as a patroness of music;3 especially since having appointed C.P.E. Bach as her Kapellmeister in 1767.4 In 1755 she was appointed Abbess of Quendlinburg, which greatly increased her personal wealth and allowed her to devote most of her time to music. As a gift for her brother in 1771, she composed her Flute Sonata in F major, a charming work that bears cadences reminiscent of J.S. Bach.5 During her lifetime, Anna Amalia amassed a large collection of literature and music which is still housed today at the Staatsbibliotek in Berlin. Eldest sister Wilhelmine von Bayreuth (1709-1758) grew up alongside her brother Frederick, and shared similar circumstances with her siblings in regard to her musical education. Wilhelmine was a dedicated patroness of the arts. In 1728 she invited lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss, along with violinist Johann Pisendel and flutists Pierre Buffardin and Joachim Quantz to her court at Dresden, where they remained for three months. During this time, her brother Frederick would visit her court twice a week to study with Quantz. While Wilhelmine’s favorite instrument was the lute, which she studied with Weiss,6 certainly the influence of her brother and his favorites inspired her to compose for the flute as well. Her Flute Sonata in A minor, composed around 1730 was discovered only recently and is the second autograph manuscript of Wilhelmine’s work known today.7 2 Jill Munroe Fankhauser, “Anna Amalie, Princess of Prussia (1723-1787),” in New Historical Anthology of Music by Women, ed. James R. Briscoe (Indiana University, 2004), 109. 3 Marc Serge Riviere and Annett Volmer, The Library of an Enlightened Prussian Princess (Berlin: Berlin Verlag Spitz, 2002), 11. 4 Jill Munroe Fankhauser, “Anna Amalie, Princess of Prussia (1723-1787),” in New Historical Anthology of Music by Women, ed. James R. Briscoe (Indiana University, 2004), 109. 5 John P Harthan, “Eighteenth-Century Flute Music” Music & Letters