"Magpie"" (""La gazza ladra"") features one of his most celebrated overtures. Rossini moved to Paris in 1824 where he began to set French librettos to music. His last opera was the epic ""William Tell"" (""Guillaume Tell""), featuring its iconic overture which helped to usher in grand opera in France. A tendency for inspired, song-like melodies is evident throughout his scores, which earned him the nickname ""the Italian Mozart."" He was a rapid and prolific composer, quoted as joking, ""Give me the laundress' bill and I will even set that to music."" He also earned the nickname ""Signor Crescendo"" for his"
"Gherardello da Firenze Gherardello da Firenze (also Niccolò di Francesco or Ghirardellus de Florentia) ( 1320–1325 – 1362 or 1363) was an Italian composer of the ""Trecento"". He was one of the first composers of the period sometimes known as the ""Italian ars nova"". Gherardello was a member of a musical family, and both his brother Jacopo and his son Giovanni were also composers; however, none of their music survives. He was probably born in or near Florence, and spent most of his life there. In 1343 he appears in the records of the cathedral of Florence, Santa Reparata (this"
"was mounted in Potsdam. Not much is known about his activities over the next six years. He died in 1798 in Casalino at the age of 50. Felice Alessandri Felice Alessandri (24 November 1747 – 15 August 1798) was an Italian keyboardist and composer who was internationally active; working in Berlin, London, Paris, St. Petersburg, and Turin. He is best known for his stage works, and he produced a total of 32 operas between 1764 and 1794. His other compositions include 6 symphonies, 6 trio sonatas for 2 violins with basso continuo, a ballet, and an oratorio. Born in Rome,"
"Franco Alfano Franco Alfano (8 March 1875 in Posillipo, Naples – 27 October 1954 in Sanremo) was an Italian composer and pianist, best known today for his opera ""Risurrezione"" (1904) and above all for having completed Puccini's opera ""Turandot"" in 1926. He had considerable success with several of his own works during his lifetime. Alfano was born in Posillipo, Naples. He attended piano lessons given privately by Alessandro Longo, and harmony and composition respectively under Camillo de Nardis (1857–1951) and Paolo Serrao at the conservatory San Pietro a Majella in Naples. Later, after graduating, he pursued further composition studies with"
"Louis Alexandre Piccinni Louis Alexandre Piccinni (variously Louis Alexandre, Luigi Alessandro or Lodovice Alessandro) (born 10 September 1779 in Paris; died 24 April 1850 in Paris) was a prolific music composer born in Paris of Italian ancestry. The grandson of the Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera, Niccolò Piccinni and son of Giuseppe Luigi Piccinni, Piccinni was already giving piano lessons at age 13. He studied piano, and later attended the Conservatoire where he studied composition from Jean-François Le Sueur. He was accompanist at the Théâtre Feydeau, and from 1802 at the Opéra-Comique. From 1803 to"
"illuminated manuscript is pictured). Gherardello da Firenze Gherardello da Firenze (also Niccolò di Francesco or Ghirardellus de Florentia) ( 1320–1325 – 1362 or 1363) was an Italian composer of the ""Trecento"". He was one of the first composers of the period sometimes known as the ""Italian ars nova"". Gherardello was a member of a musical family, and both his brother Jacopo and his son Giovanni were also composers; however, none of their music survives. He was probably born in or near Florence, and spent most of his life there. In 1343 he appears in the records of the cathedral of"
"Girolamo Crescentini Girolamo Crescentini (Urbania, 2 February 1762 – Naples 24 April 1846) was a noted Italian singer castrato (sopranista), a singing teacher and a composer. He studied in Bologna with the noted teacher Lorenzo Gibelli and made his debut in 1783, quite advanced in years as a castrato. After an unlucky stay in London in 1785, where he did not win much approbation, on his getting back to Italy, he took part in Naples, very successfully, to a revival of Guglielmi’s opera ""Enea e Lavinia"", together with the already famous tenor Giacomo Davide, who shared Crescentini’s artistic inclinations. Thenceforwards,"
"Légion d'honneur"" (1814) and ""Membre de l'Académie des Beaux-Arts"" (1815). In 1841, he was made ""Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur,"" the first musician to receive that title. Cherubini died in Paris in 1842 at age 81 and is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery, just four metres from his friend Chopin. His tomb was designed by the architect Achille Leclère and includes a figure by the sculptor Augustin-Alexandre Dumont representing ""Music"" crowning a bust of the composer with a wreath. Notes Sources Luigi Cherubini Luigi Cherubini (; 8 or 14 September 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and"
"buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. In contemporary sources, including those written by the tenor himself, his stage name is spelled ""Gustarello"". The spelling ""Agustarello"" appears only posthumously, and is presumably an error. In contemporary reviews, on record labels and in the tenor's own spoken introductions to many of his sound recordings, he is simply ""Monsieur Affre"". Agustarello Affre Agustarello Affre (23 October 1858 - 27 December 1931) was a French operatic tenor. He possessed a powerful, firm and exceptionally beautiful voice which garnered him the nickname the ""French Tamagno"" in comparison to the great Italian tenor. He"
"Carlo Cecere Carlo Cecere (7 November 170615 February 1761) was an Italian composer of operas, concertos and instrumental duets including, for example, some mandolin duets and a concerto for mandolin. Cecere worked in the transitional period between the Baroque and Classical eras. Surprisingly little is known about his life, given that he lived in the 18th century. It is known that Cecere was born in Grottole (Basilicata) and died in Naples; he is buried in the chapel of the Congregazione dei Musici di S. Maria la Nuova. But it is not even known which instrument(s) he played by preference. According"
"Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi (; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian violinist, composer and musicologist, best known for his trilogy of orchestral tone poems: ""Fountains of Rome"" (1916), ""Pines of Rome"" (1924), and ""Roman Festivals"" (1928). His musicological interest in 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century music led him to compose pieces based on the music of these periods. He also wrote several operas, the most famous being ""La fiamma"". Ottorino Respighi was born on 9 July 1879 in an apartment inside Palazzo Fantuzzi on Via Guido Reni in Bologna, Italy, into a musical family. His father, a local piano"
"""Archelao, Re di Cappadocia""(1722), ""Pallade Triofante""(1722) ""Creso""(1723), ""Il trionfo della fama""(1723),"" Penelope""(1724) ""Meleagro""(1724), ""Griselda""(1725), ""Il contrasto della Belezza e el Tempo""(1726), ""Issicratea""(1726), ""L'ammalato immaginario""(intermezzo 1727) and ""Issipile""(1732) 9 oratorios, including: 50 cantatas Francesco Bartolomeo Conti Francesco Bartolomeo Conti (20 January 1681 or 1682July 1732) was an Italian composer and player of the mandolin and theorbo. He also wrote the oldest mandolin method book that has survived. Little is known about the biography of Conti. He was born in Florence, Italy. By 1700 he was already known as a theorbist not only in his native Florence, but also in other cities"
"killed himself. Paul Puget died in Paris on 15 March 1917 and is buried at the Montmartre Cemetery. Paul Puget Paul Charles Marie Curet, called Puget (25 June 1848 –15 March 1917) was a French composer. Born in Nantes in a family of musicians (his father Henri Puget was a renowned tenor at his time), Paul Puget studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, piano in Antoine François Marmontel's class and musical composition with Victor Massé. In 1873, he entered the competition of the Institut de France and obtained the first Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata ""Mazeppa"". From his"
"in Rome on 16 May 2004. In 2017, to mark a century from Riccardo’s birth, the Accademia Chigiana held a concert in his honor in Siena on 10 July, executed by a Quintet formed by Federico Guglielmo and Felice Cusano on violin, Laura Riccardi on viola, Alain Meunier on cello and Anne Le Bozec on piano. ""Translated and revised from the article in Italian Wikipedia"" Riccardo Brengola Riccardo Brengola (Naples 18 March 1917 – Rome 16 May 2004) was a famous Italian violinist and professor. Riccardo Brengola was born in Naples on 18 March 1917, to his father Carlo and"
"René Mesangeau René Mésangeau (or Mézangeau, Mesangio, Mésengeot, Mesengé, Meziniot, Meschanson, Mesangior, Mazagau, Merengeau, Messangior, Mezanio, and Mezengau) (fl. 15671638) was a French composer and lutenist. He is considered to be one of the finest lutenists of the 17th century. In 1619, he settled in France and married the daughter of the spinet maker Jean Jacquet. In 1621, he was appointed ""Musicien ordinaire du Roi"" at the French court by Louis XIII. It is known that during his life he visited Germany and England. He died around January 1638 in Paris. His output consists of about fifty works, including his"
"in Lugano, Switzerland. He is buried in nearby Pura. Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (; 5 January 1920 – 12 June 1995) was an Italian classical pianist. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. Born in Brescia, Italy, he began music lessons at the age of three, initially with the violin, but quickly switched to the piano. At eleven he entered the Milan Conservatory, graduating three years later at fourteen. In 1938, at the age of eighteen, he began his international career by entering the Ysaÿe International Festival in Brussels, Belgium, where he was"
"serenata, and two oratorios (""Oratorio di Maria dolorata"" ca. 1723 and ""Oratorio per la Santissima Vergine del Rosario"" ca. 1730). His sonata in D major for flute and basso continuo is still played today. He composed two sonatas for the recorder in addition to a recorder concerto in a minor. Leonardo Vinci Leonardo Vinci (1690 – 27 May 1730) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. He was born at Strongoli and educated at Naples under Gaetano Greco in the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo. He first became known for his ""opere buffe"" in Neapolitan dialect in"
"Mathieu Gascongne Mathieu Gascongne (first name also Matthieu or Matthias; last name also Gascogne, Gascongus, Gascone, Gasconia, and Guascogna; fl. early 16th century) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Contemporaries, such as Adrian Willaert (as quoted by the renowned Venetian theorist Zarlino) grouped him with Josquin, Ockeghem, and Jean Mouton as among the finest composers of the time. Compared with those others, however, little of his output has survived. Little is known for certain about his life, and there are two principal theories regarding where he lived and worked. The first is that he was associated with the French"
"favourite device in early baroque music. Bernardo Pasquini Bernardo Pasquini (Massa e Cozzile, 7 December 1637 Rome, 21 November 1710) was an Italian composer of operas, oratorios, cantatas and keyboard music. A renowned virtuoso keyboard player in his day, he was one of the most important Italian composers for harpsichord between Girolamo Frescobaldi and Domenico Scarlatti, having also made substantial contributions to the opera and oratorio. Pasquini was born in Massa in Val di Nievole (today Massa e Cozzile, in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany). He was a pupil of Mariotto Bocciantini in Uzzano (Pistoia). Around 1650 he moved to"
"Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (; 15 May 1567 (baptized) – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, string player and choirmaster. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered a crucial transitional figure between the Renaissance and the Baroque periods of music history. Born in Cremona, where he undertook his first musical studies and compositions, Monteverdi developed his career first at the court of Mantua (c. 1590–1613) and then until his death in the Republic of Venice where he was ""maestro di capella"" at the basilica of"
"Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. Paisiello was born in Taranto in the Apulia region and educated by the Jesuits there. He became known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante, and eventually became assistant master. For the theatre of the Conservatorio, which he left in 1763, he wrote some intermezzi, one of which attracted so much"
"service, his coffin was accompanied to Montmartre Cemetery by the band of the French National Guard. Louis Clapisson Antoine-Louis Clapisson (15 September 1808 – 19 March 1866) was a French composer and violinist. He composed numerous art songs as well as 22 operas, largely in the opéra comique genre. In his later years he was a professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatory and the curator of the conservatory's museum of musical instruments, many of which had come from his own large collection. Clapisson's family was originally from Lyon where his grandfather had been a maker of wind instruments. Clapisson"
"being more in keeping with Puccini's evolving technique. See also List of operas by Franco Alfano. Operas Other compositions Notes Franco Alfano Franco Alfano (8 March 1875 in Posillipo, Naples – 27 October 1954 in Sanremo) was an Italian composer and pianist, best known today for his opera ""Risurrezione"" (1904) and above all for having completed Puccini's opera ""Turandot"" in 1926. He had considerable success with several of his own works during his lifetime. Alfano was born in Posillipo, Naples. He attended piano lessons given privately by Alessandro Longo, and harmony and composition respectively under Camillo de Nardis (1857–1951) and"
"Kassel printed one of his complete masses, ""Messa completa"", in 1981 One of his letters to Ricordi from 1845 is preserved at the French National Library. Luigi Ferdinando Casamorata Luigi Ferdinando Casamorata (Würzburg, 15 May 1807 – Florence, 24 September 1881) was a composer and Italian music critic. He was the son of the Grand Duke's inspector Luigi Giacomo Casamorata, who stayed with the Grand Duke Ferdinando III in exile in Germany. Already, when he was seven years old, he moved to Florence and studied piano. In 1825, while he was attending law school at the University, he tied a"
"Francesco Mander Francesco Mander (26 October 1915, Rome – 2 September 2004, Latisana) was an Italian conductor and composer. Francesco Mander was the only son of Pietro Mander, a film producer and owner of Mander Film, and Lucia Mercadante. From his father he inherited his love for literature; from his mother he gained a passion for music. His mother was a descendant of noted Italian opera composer Saverio Mercadante (1795-1870). From an early age his parents took him to concerts in Rome's famed concert hall, the Augusteo. After the family moved to Milan Mander continued his piano study and also"
"Merulo, indicating his status as one of the most important keyboard players of the Italian Renaissance. Claudio Merulo Claudio Merulo (; 8 April 1533 – 4 May 1604) was an Italian composer, publisher and organist of the late Renaissance period, most famous for his innovative keyboard music and his ensemble music composed in the Venetian polychoral style. He was born in Correggio and died in Parma. Born Claudio Merlotti, he Latinised his surname (meaning little blackbird) when he became famous in Venetian cultural clubs. Little is known about his early life except that he studied in Correggio with Tuttovale Menon,"
"Bernardo Pasquini Bernardo Pasquini (Massa e Cozzile, 7 December 1637 Rome, 21 November 1710) was an Italian composer of operas, oratorios, cantatas and keyboard music. A renowned virtuoso keyboard player in his day, he was one of the most important Italian composers for harpsichord between Girolamo Frescobaldi and Domenico Scarlatti, having also made substantial contributions to the opera and oratorio. Pasquini was born in Massa in Val di Nievole (today Massa e Cozzile, in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany). He was a pupil of Mariotto Bocciantini in Uzzano (Pistoia). Around 1650 he moved to Ferrara with his uncle Giovanni Pasquini."
"Francesco Molino Francesco Molino (also known as François Molino) (4 June 1768 – 1847) was an Italian guitarist, violinist, and composer. Molino was born in Ivrea near Turin. He often travelled to Spain to give concerts. He was orchestral conductor during 1796-97. In 1820 he settled in Paris, where he lived for the remainder of his life. His works were largely neglected until the twentieth century, when many of them were republished. Among the best-known are his ""Three Sonatas"", ""18 Preludes"" and ""Terpsichore"" (a set of dances), all for solo guitar. He also wrote for other instruments in combination with"
"Leonardo Vinci Leonardo Vinci (1690 – 27 May 1730) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. He was born at Strongoli and educated at Naples under Gaetano Greco in the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo. He first became known for his ""opere buffe"" in Neapolitan dialect in 1719; he also composed many ""opere serie."" He was received into the Congregation of the Rosary at Formiello in 1728. He died in May 1730. Vinci is rumoured to have been poisoned by a jealous husband in the wake of an ill-advised affair, a story which is given by several"
"in Italy during the 17th century. ""Nuova inventione"" includes versions of some of the most popular dance-songs and harmonic patterns of the time, including the ""Ruggiero, bergamasca, folia,"" and ""Ballo del gran duca"", and was the first Italian publication to include the ""ciaccone"" and ""passacaglias"". In terms of original music, Montesardo mainly composed polyphonic sacred music and madrigals. Montesardo also experimented with monody and published a collection of monody, which included his own experiments and works by Jacopo Peri and Giulio Caccini. Girolamo Montesardo Girolamo Montesardo (""fl."" 1606–""c."" 1620) was an Italian singer and composer. Although his surname was actually"
"took the Frenchified given name of Michel. He became a French citizen in 1739. Philippe d'Orléans was a patron, allowing Mascitti early appearances at the court of Versailles. Mascitti published all nine of his sonata collections in Paris. The four concertos from Op. 7 follow the ""concerto grosso"" style of Corelli. During his lifetime, Mascitti enjoyed similar fame to Albinoni and Corelli. His compositions were mainly in the Italian, and sometimes French, style. They contained an abundance of novel harmonies for the period. Michele Mascitti Michele Mascitti (1664 in Villa Santa Maria (from Chieti); 24 April 1760 in Paris) was"
"Bernardo Pisano Bernardo Pisano (also Pagoli) (October 12, 1490 – January 23, 1548) was an Italian composer, priest, singer, and scholar of the Renaissance. He was one of the first madrigalists, and the first composer anywhere to have a printed collection of secular music devoted entirely to himself. He was born in Florence, and may have spent some time in Pisa (hence his name). As a young man he sang and studied music at the church of Annunziata in Florence. In 1512 he became ""maestro di cappella"" there, a job which held in addition to supervising the choristers and singing"
"the same position at Santa Maria Maggiore. His wife Eugenia died on 12 March 1683; Foggia died on 8 January 1688 and was buried in the church of Santa Prassede in Rome. Foggia's works were known outside the areas he worked - Italy, Munich and Vienna. For example, while he never worked in France, 7 of Foggia's motets survive in a collection by Danican Philidor, along with motets by Carissimi, Daniel Danielis, Pierre Robert and Lully. Francesco Foggia Francesco Foggia (baptized 17 November 1603 – 8 January 1688) was an Italian composer of the Baroque. Foggia was a boy soprano"