Personalities | Ferdinando Paer | Early Romantic | Classical
(Fâr-de-nan’-do Pa’-er) 1771–1839
Italian composer
Paer was among the last of the group of Italian composers in demand as maestri di cappella, and together with Mayr dominated Italian opera in the first decade of the nineteenth century. He studied in Parma, but moved to Paris in 1807, when Napoleon, a great admirer of his work, appointed him maître de chapelle, and later director of the Opéra-Comique and the Théâtre-Italien. His operatic style owes much to Mozart, although his works often lack expressive concentration. He generally relied on vocal virtuosity rather than on harmonic devices for his dramatic effects; among his finest works are Camilla, ossia Il sotterraneo (‘Camilla of the Underworld’, 1799) and Achille (‘Achillis’, 1801), an opera seria based on the Iliad. In the 1820s his composition pupils included the young Liszt.
Recommended Recording:
Leonora, soloists, Bavarian Radio SO (cond) Peter Maag (Decca)
Introduction | Early Romantic | Classical
Personalities | Nicolò Paganini | Early Romantic | Classical
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
CURATED
Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.