Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini
Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini (Italian pronunciation: [maˈriːa teˈrɛːza aɲˈɲeːzi pinotˈtiːni, -ɲɛːz-]; née Agnesi; 17 October 1720 – 19 January 1795) was an Italian composer. Though she was most famous for her compositions, she was also an accomplished harpsichordist and singer, and the majority of her surviving compositions were written for keyboard, the voice, or both.
Also recorded as Maria Teresa Agnesi · Maria Theresa Agnesi
Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini
Benigno Bossi · Public domain
- Born
- 1720. · Milan.
- Died
- 1795. · Milan.
- Occupation
- harpsichordist, composer, salonnière, pianist and opera singer.
- Fields
- music.
- Languages
- Italian.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini (Italian pronunciation: [maˈriːa teˈrɛːza aɲˈɲeːzi pinotˈtiːni, -ɲɛːz-]; née Agnesi; 17 October 1720 – 19 January 1795) was an Italian composer. Though she was most famous for her compositions, she was also an accomplished harpsichordist and singer, and the majority of her surviving compositions were written for keyboard, the voice, or both.
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Note VALÉORINE
Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini (1720–1795) was a composer, harpsichordist and opera singer, among other activities. The composer was born and died in Milan. Activity centred on music.
The work spans opera. Languages used include Italian.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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In this article
Life
Life
Maria Teresa was born in Milan to Pietro Agnesi, a member of the lesser nobility. He provided early education for both Maria Teresa and her more famous older sister, Maria Gaetana, a mathematics and language prodigy who lectured and debated all over Europe while her sister performed. It was this education that allowed for Maria Teresa to fulfill her passion for music. Maria Teresa was married to Pier Antonio Pinottini on 13 June 1752, and they settled in a district populated by intellects and artists, but eventually suffered severe financial ruin. Pinottini died not too long afterwards. Maria Teresa died in Milan in 1795.
Career
Career
Maria Teresa had several famous performances, perhaps the most famous on 16 July 1739, when famous French traveller Charles de Brosses was very impressed by her music. He was not the only one; Count Gerolamo Riccati wrote several letters praising her compositions and musical talent. Another very famous performance was her theatrical debut, the Cantata Pastorale Il Ristoro d'Arcadia, in Milan at the Teatro Regio Ducale in 1747 where she dedicated her piece to various rulers of the surrounding areas of Saxony and Austria. Agnesi would enjoy the patronage of Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress and sovereign of Lombardy, and Maria Antonia Walpurgis, a gifted composer and contemporary. The Empress was said to have sung at Maria Teresa Agnesi's famous 1747 performance.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1795
Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini died on 19 January 1795.
Compositions
Operas II Restauro di Arcadia (cant. pastorale, G. Riviera), Milan, Teatro Regio Ducale, 1747 (lost) La Sofonisba (dramma eroico, 3, G.F. Zanetti) Ciro in Armenia (dramma serio, 3,? Agnesi), Milan, Teatro Regio Ducale, 26 Dec 1753, Act 3 frags Il re pastore (dramma serio, 3, P. Metastasio), 1755? La Insubria Consolata (Componimento drammatico, 2), Milan, 1766-Nitocri (dramma serio, 3, A. Zeno), Act 2 frags Ulisse in Campania (serenata, 2) Keyboard, small ensemble, vocal music 12 arias, S, 2 Aria en Murki: Still, stille Mann! 4 concertos (F, F, F, D) (str pts missing in A-Wn, D-Dl), 1 cited in 1766 Breitkopf catalogue Sonata, G, cited in 1767 Breitkopf catalogue (1998) Sonata, F (1992) Allegro ou Presto Allemande militare & Menuetto grazioso, kbd (with special stops), ed. F. Brodszky, -Thesaurus Musicus, xvii (1962) Lost: conc., Eâ, hpd, cited in 1766 Breitkopf catalogue; sonata, G, kbd, cited in 1767—Breitkopf catalogue; Airs divers
Legacy and influence
Her keyboard music was frequently technically challenging and was widely circulated during her lifetime and is representative of the northern Italian style of the period. Her work does seem to have evolved throughout her career; her early works are simple and clean, while her later works are more virtuosic, complex, and melodramatic. Her compositions were well-received in courts like Vienna and Dresden, where elegantly designed copies of some of her works were produced.
Discography
Hofkomponistinnen in Europa: Aus Boudoir und Gärten, Vol. 2 Sonata for Harpsichord in G Major CD “Note Femminill”-Concerto
Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini, Anonimo, ritratto della compositrice e clavicembalista maria teresa agnesi
Sailko
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q447804: Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Maria Teresa Agnesi PinottiniMetaBrainz Foundation
Institutional witnessauthority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,307 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Maria Teresa Pelegrí i MarimónPerson
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- María Teresa VeraPerson
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