2012/02/9
Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen (1745–1818), Venice, Italy
Born into a poor family, she was placed at an early age in an orphanage and a girl’s school, where music came to play a central role in her life. She became a skilled violinist and impressing Giuseppe Tartini, who funded her continued study of the violin. She married the violinist Ludovico Sirmen, with whom she toured extensively. Later in life she continued as a solo violinist, performing throughout Europe and in Russia.
