Regina Schlick née Strinasacchi (c. 1761 – 11 June 1839) was a violin virtuoso and guitarist in a time when women rarely performed on the violin in public. She knew

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

well enough that he composed the Sonata in B flat for Violin and Keyboard, "Strinasacchi," ( K. 454) at her request. Strinasacchi was born in either 1761, 1762 or 1764, at Ostiglia, near

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

. In addition to her skill with the violin, she played guitar and composed, having studied at

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 ...

's school, 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 ...

'' in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. She toured Italy, France and Germany between 1780 and 1783, arriving in Vienna in 1784, where she met Mozart. In a letter to his father, Mozart wrote: "We now have here the famous Strinasacchi from Mantua, a very good violinist. She has a great deal of taste and feeling in her playing. I am this moment composing a sonata which we are going to play together on Thursday at her concert in the theater." On 29 April 1784 she performed a concert with Mozart for Holy Roman Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

, where they debuted the sonata. Famously, Mozart performed his piano portion without sheet music. In 1785, Strinasacchi married Johann Conrad Schlick (born Munster, Germany, 1759— died

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

, 1825), composer, cellist, mandolinist and konzertmeister of the Gotha ducal band. He was already a professional musician when they married, playing at the Bishop's Chapel of Munster. They performed some concert tours together after their marriage, playing duos for violin and cello and mandolin and guitar. Their son, Johann Friedrich William Schlick, was born in 1801 and became a cellist and instrument maker. Upon her husband's death, she moved with her son to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, where she lived out the remainder of her life. She was also reported to have died in Gotha.

References

Robert Levin: Mozart Explored
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strinasacchi, Regina Italian classical violinists Italian guitarists Italian women guitarists 1760s births 1839 deaths Musicians from Mantua Italian women classical violinists