1714–97, German The German tenor Anton Raaff studied in both Germany and Italy and made his debut in Munich in 1736. There followed performances in Italy in 1739, Bonn and Frankfurt in 1742 and in Vienna in 1749, where, according to Metastasio, he ‘sang like an angel’. Raaff went on to perform in Madrid in 1755 ...
(An-ton’-yo da Ka-ba-thon’) 1510–66 Spanish keyboard composer and player Blind from birth, Cabezón learnt the organ from an early age and became one of the great keyboard players of his day. He began his career as organist to Queen Isabella. After her death he worked for her children, later attaching himself solely to the future king, Philip II. Cabezón’s ...
(An-ton’-yo Chas’-te) c. 1623–69 Italian composer Cesti was a Franciscan monk who studied music in Rome. Employed as a singer at the Florentine and Sienese courts, he then travelled to Venice, where his first opera Orontea (1649) was successfully performed at the Teatro di SS Apostoli. Following an affair with a singer, Cesti moved to Innsbruck, Austria, ...
(An-ton’-yo Kal-da’-ra) 1670–1736 Italian composer Caldara was a Venetian composer whose career was divided almost equally between Italy and Austria. He sang under Giovanni Legrenzi (1626–90) at St Mark’s and in 1699 was appointed maestro di cappella at the Mantuan court. In 1708 he left Mantua for Rome, where his oratorio Il martirio di San Caterina (‘The Martyrdom of St Catherine’) ...
(Pe-a’-tro An-ton’-yo Lo-ka-tel’-le) 1695–1764 Italian composer and violinist Locatelli studied at Bergamo and Rome, where he played for Cardinal Ottoboni. After a short appointment as virtuoso da camera (court virtuoso) at the Mantuan court (1725–27), Locatelli travelled throughout Austria and Germany appearing as a virtuoso – on one occasion with Leclair. He settled in Amsterdam in 1729 where he taught, ...
(An-ton’-yo Ve-val’-de) 1678–1741 Italian composer and violinist Vivaldi was born in Venice. After learning the violin with his father, and possibly other teachers too, he joined the orchestra of St Mark’s. He was ordained in 1703, later acquiring the nickname Il prete rosso (‘the Red Priest’), because of his red hair. Partly because of fragile health and partly perhaps ...
(An-ton’-yo Sal-yâr’-e) 1750–1825 Italian composer Born in north Italy, Salieri went to Vienna when he was 15. He had several early successes and at 24 became court composer and conductor of the opera, and Kapellmeister 14 years later. He visited Italy where, in 1778, he wrote the opera for the opening of La Scala, Milan, and ...
(Yo’-han Vent’-zel An’-ton Shta’-mit) 1717–57 Bohemian composer Born in Bohemia, by 1741 Stamitz was working at the Mannheim court, where he became leading violinist in 1743, Konzertmeister soon after, and director in 1750. He made the Mannheim orchestra the most famous in Europe for its discipline and its capacity to achieve new effects. Although he composed concertos and ...
(An’-to-nyen Ri-kha) 1770–1836 Czech-French composer Born in Prague, Reicha studied the violin and piano with his uncle, Joseph Reicha. He then lived in Bonn, where he became a friend of Beethoven. After striving largely in vain for operatic success, he settled in 1801 in Vienna, where he formed a close friendship with Haydn. In 1808 he went ...
(An’-ton Stya-pa-no’-vech A-ren’-shke) 1861–1906 Russian composer and pianist Arensky studied with Rimsky-Korsakov at the St Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, but was also heavily influenced by Tchaikovsky whom he met, along with Taneyev, while he was working as professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his pupils were Rachmaninov, Glière and Alexander Scriabin. During a virtuoso career he held the ...
(An’-ton Brook’-ner) 1824–96 Austrian composer Bruckner’s Masses and symphonies, alongside those of Mahler, brought the Romantic symphonic tradition to its zenith. In contrast to Mahler’s angst and irony, Bruckner’s symphonies express triumphant faith, their almost cathedral-like proportions infused with exciting orchestral power and poetry. Born in the small town of Ansfelden near Linz, where his father was ...
(An’-to-nyen Dvôr’zhak) 1841–1904 Czech composer Dvořák was the pre-eminent composer of the Czech national revival. Arguably his achievement was less fundamental than Smetana’s, but he developed a strong international profile and for millions his style epitomizes ‘Czechness’ in music. The Czech influence in his work is hard to demonstrate and he almost never quoted folksong, but the appeal of his ...
(An’-ton Roo’-ben-stin) 1829–94 Russian pianist and composer Rubinstein’s younger brother Nikolai (1835–81) founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a child prodigy Anton played to Liszt. His legendary virtuosity was acclaimed across Europe and the US, where he toured with Wieniawski in 1872. He espoused German Romanticism and thus, as founder-director of the St Petersburg Conservatory (1862), represented the ‘conservative’ opposition to ...
(Composer, piano, guitar, 1927–94) Jobim was the best known of the Brazilian composers who made an impact on jazz. His international reputation blossomed due to his songs in the film Black Orpheus (1959) and with João Gilberto he sparked a bossa nova craze, boosted by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd’s Jazz Samba (1962). He led his own ...
1623–69, Italian Musically speaking, Florentine composer Antonio Cesti led a double life. He wrote operas for the Venetian opera houses but also provided music for the courts at Innsbruck and Vienna. Either way, he was involved in basically secular entertainment, despite the fact that he was in holy orders. At age 14, Cesti had joined the ...
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