Bon: Sei sonate per il cembalo, op. II, 1757

A fascinating and still enigmatic figure, Anna Bon di Venezia was one of the few professional female composers of the 18th century to secure a place in European courts. A virtuoso, singer, and composer, her career unfolded across Venice, Bayreuth, and Nuremberg, where she published her three collections of works between 1756 and 1759. Little is known about her: the only definitive biographical details come from the dedications and title pages of her publications. Anna studied under Candida della Pietà, a viola teacher and former student of Antonio Vivaldi. Even in her early years, she was recognized as a talented musician and soon distinguished herself as a composer. The collection presented here, Six Sonatas for Harpsichord, op. 2, was published in Nuremberg in 1757 during Anna’s stay at the court of Bayreuth. The sonatas are dedicated to Ernestina Augusta Sophia, Princess of Saxe-Weimar, who was Anna Bon’s pupil before marrying the Duke of Hildburghausen. Annarosa Partipilo excels in her meticulous performance, playing a late 18th-century fortepiano.