Charlotte Wilhelmina Franziska Brandes (Minna) (21 May 1765 - 3 June 1788) was a German singer, pianist, actress and composer. She was born in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, the daughter of actress Ester Charlotte Brandes née Koch and playwright Johann Christian Brandes, and toured with her parents in Europe, performing on stage at an early age. She studied music with Hönecke in Weimar

Weimar

Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...

 and Christoph Transchel in Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

 for piano, Muriottini in Dresden and also Gertrud Elisabeth Mara

Gertrud Elisabeth Mara

Gertrud Elisabeth Mara [née Schmeling] was a German operatic soprano.She was born in Kassel, the daughter of a poor musician, Johann Schmeling. From him she learnt to play the violin, and while still a child, her playing at the fair at Frankfurt was so remarkable that money was collected to...

 and Giovanni Carl Concialini for voice.

After completing her studies, Brandes worked as a singer and actress and composed songs and works for piano. She had a three octave range and performed successfully in courts and opera. After 1782 she lived in Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, and died there.

Works

Brandes composed works for piano and Italian and German songs which were edited by Friedrich Hoenicke, Music Director of Beyme Hamburg theater, and published after her death. Her works are published as A Musical Legacy. Selected compositions include:

• Allegro
• Harvest song, Allegretto
• To the Nightingale, Lento
• May Song, Allegretto
• Winter Song, Andante Moderato
• The dream, Adagio
• The old farmer and his son, Andante
• Spring Song, Andante
• Sigh, Largo
• Cavatina Larghetto, for two horns in F, flute, bassoon, two violins, viola, soprano, bass, harpsichord
• Duetto for soprano and orchestra
• Largo for orchestra