As Duchess of Parma, Maria Amalia of Austria shaped one of the most intellectually ambitious musical courts of the later 18th century through active, informed patronage. This program traces her influence through music written for, about, and around her: keyboard works dedicated to her by Georg Christoph Wagenseil, vocal music composed for her by Christoph Willibald Gluck, and newly rediscovered sonatas by Fortunati, written for Maria Amalia and her children. The concert illuminates patronage not as abstraction, but as a concrete force shaping repertoire, taste, and daily musical life at court between Vienna and Parma.

Performers

Andréa Walker soprano
Will Copeland violin
Mario Aschauer fortepiano