Anna Maria della Pietà (c.1696 – 10 August 1782), was an Italian violinist, composer and teacher based in the Venetian orphanage Ospedale della Pietà.

Biography

Her exact date of birth is unknown because Anna Maria was an orphan at the

Ospedale della Pietà The Ospedale della Pietà was a convent, orphanage, and music school in Venice. Like other Venetian ''ospedali'', the Pietà was first established as a hospice for the needy. A group of Venetian nuns, called the Consorelle di Santa Maria dell’Um ...

(

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

Hospital) in Venice. The orphanage was established to raise girls who would be useful to society. Babies would be dropped off through a secret opening barely large enough for them, first created in 1696. She was called Anna Maria, though later known as ''Anna Maria dal Violin'' and ''Anna Maria della Pietà''. By the time she was eight her musical prowess had brought her to the attention of the heads of the school. She was taught the violin by the school music director

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

. Anna Maria in turn taught Chiara della Pietà and

Santa della Pietà Santa (also known as Sanza or Samaritana) della Pietà (''fl. ca.'' 1725 – ''ca.'' 1750, died after 1774) was an Italian singer, composer, and violinist. She grew up as a foundling in the Ospedale della Pietà, where she received a full musical ...

. Many of the concertos written by Vivaldi were written especially for her. She remained at the orphanage her whole life. Her music brought tourists to hear her and the orchestra play. An anonymous poet wrote that when she played, ''countless angels dared to hover near.'' In 1720, at the age of 24, she was dubbed "Maestra", and by 1737 she had attained the leadership posts of ''maestra di violino'' and ''maestra di coro''. Anna Maria also played the cello, oboe, lute, mandolin, harpsichord, and viola d'amore. Anna Maria composed music and performed publicly for more than 60 years, dying of a fever and cough in Venice on 10 August 1782.

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:della Pietà, Anna Maria 1690s births 1782 deaths 18th-century Italian violinists Italian classical violinists Adoption, fostering, orphan care and displacement Italian Baroque composers Italian women classical composers Musicians from the Republic of Venice 18th-century Italian composers Italian women classical violinists 18th-century Italian women composers