(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 ...
1792–1868, Italian By the age of 14, Gioachino Rossini could play the violin, cello, harpsichord and horn, and had written a buffo-style cavatina, a short solo song. In 1806, Rossini was studying at the Bologna Conservatory and wrote his first opera, Demetrio e Polibio. The next year he produced his first professional work ...
secretary Joseph Sonnleithner to rework in German. Fidelio – the title was changed, apparently against Beethoven’s wishes, to avoid confusion with operas by Pierre Gaveaux (1798) and Ferdinando Paer (1804) – finally saw the stage on 20 November 1805. It lasted for only three performances, partly because Beethoven’s supporters had fled Vienna as Napoleon’s troops advanced, and ...
early Romantic German opera. Recommended Recording: Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor, soloists, Bavarian Radio SO (cond) Rafael Kubelík (Decca) Introduction | Early Romantic | Classical Personalities | Ferdinando Paer | Early Romantic | Classical ...
The early Romantic era was a period that saw a move in all the arts towards greater expression and a loosening of structures and forms. In music this meant an expanding and freeing up of existing classical forms such as the symphony, and the development of newly expressive genres such as the symphonic poem. Opera took on bigger, more ...
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.