13 Jan Press Release: Marianne Mozart

Les Délices Celebrates 18th Century Women Composers in Recital at Cleveland Museum of Art on March 22nd

CLEVELAND – History remembers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a singular prodigy, but in his youth, he shared the spotlight with an equally gifted sibling, Marianne Mozart (1751-1829). To illuminate Marianne’s story, Les Délices core members Shelby Yamin (violinist) and Mark Edwards (fortepiano) will present familiar works of Wolfgang alongside brilliant, often overlooked compositions by his female contemporaries in a special recital presented by The Cleveland Museum of Art inside Gartner Auditorium on March 22nd, 2026 at 3:00 pm. Tickets for Marianne Mozart at the Cleveland Museum of Art are available now via the CMA website. 

The Forgotten Story of Marianne Mozart

Marianne Mozart, known as Nannerl, was an acclaimed keyboardist and composer who toured Europe alongside her brother. Writing in the 1760s, her father Leopold exclaimed, “My little girl plays the most difficult works which we have…with incredible precision and so excellently…What it all amounts to is this, that my little girl, although she is only 12 years old, is one of the most skillful players in Europe.” However, as she reached adulthood, societal expectations of the era forced her to retreat from the public eye, while Wolfgang was free to pursue a professional career.

In fact, Marianne was one of young Wolfgang’s earliest role models; the siblings learned alongside one another and collaborated frequently. Early in Marianne’s marriage, Wolfgang continued to send her manuscripts of his music, including piano concertos. But unfortunately, all of her compositions have been lost. To illuminate Marianne’s story, the musical program features works the siblings could have played together while making connections to professional women musicians in Wolfgang’s orbit including Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen (1745 – 1818), Josepha Barbara Auernhammer (1758 – 1820), and Jane Mary Guest (c. 1762 – 1846).

Two Multi-Faceted Performers

While audiences will recognize violinist Shelby Yamin and keyboardist Mark Edwards from their frequent appearances with Les Délices over many seasons, this program marks their first joint recital. Artistic Director Debra Nagy commented, “Mark is such a gifted and refined keyboard player and he was itching to prepare and perform a program on historical pianos. Shelby is such an incredible violinist and extraordinarily sensitive chamber musician. It seemed like a no-brainer to bring them together for a program of so-called accompanied keyboard sonatas. This genre – where the violin accompanies the keyboard (and not the other way around) – requires incredible finesse and two sensitive players who are thinking and responding like one.” Edwards will perform on the Belt Fortepiano from the Musart Society’s Historical Keyboard Collection.

A Dynamic Program

The musical program is bookended by works by W.A. Mozart that connect him to female pianist-composers. First, his Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 31, a piece he composed during childhood. It serves as a poignant window into the world he and Marianne shared as wunderkinder, touring the great courts of Europe as equals before their paths were forced to diverge. The recital concludes with Mozart’s Sonata in C Major K296 (1781), a mature work originally written to delight the piano-playing teenaged daughter of a Mannheim official in whose house he stayed while looking for work in the city in summer of 1777. It was published in 1781 as part of a collection of sonatas dedicated to composer and pianist Josepha Barbara Auernhammer. 

Mozart and Auernhammer had a collaborative professional relationship based on mutual admiration and respect that is also evidenced by her charming Variations on “Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja”, also included on the program. In Auernhammer’s hands, Papageno’s aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute becomes a springboard for a set of delightful, virtuosic variations.

The program also includes trailblazing composer Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen’s Sonata in A Major. Lombardini Sirmen’s precocious musical gifts led her to be trained as a child in one of Venice’s famed musical orphanages. Against all odds, she ultimately pursued a multi-faceted freelance career as a violinist, composer, and opera singer. Violinist Shelby Yamin has long championed the works of Lombardini Sirmen; her discography includes the first ever recording of Sirmen’s entire opus of violin duets on period instruments (Orpheus Classical Label, 2021) and she also recorded Sirmen’s Violin Concerto in B-Flat Major with Voices of Music. 

This event is presented by The Cleveland Museum of Art. Tickets ($25-$45) are available via the CMA website. Museum members receive discounted ticket rates.

Les Délices maintains a robust schedule of concerts, touring engagements, outreach, and educational programming. Explore all upcoming Les Délices events at lesdelices.org/events

EVENT DETAILS:

Marianne Mozart
A Special Recital Featuring Shelby Yamin and Mark Edwards

Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 3:00 pm
Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art
11150 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44106
This is a ticketed event