Antonio Salieri

Antonio Salieri (August 18, 1750 – May 7, 1825), born in Legnago, Italy, was a composer and conductor, as well as one of the most important and famous musicians of his time.

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Raised in a prosperous family of merchants, Salieri studied violin and harpsichord with his brother Francesco, who was a student of Giuseppe Tartini. After the early death of his parents, he moved to Padua, then to Venice, where he studied thoroughbass with Giovanni Battista Pescetti. There he met Florian Leopold Gassmann in 1766, who invited him to attend the court of Vienna and there trained him in composition based on Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum. He remained in Vienna for the remainder of his life, and in 1774, after Gassmann's death, Salieri was appointed court composer by Emperor Joseph II, and Imperial Royal Kapellmeister in 1788, a post which he held till 1824. He was president of the "Tonk?nstler-Societ?t" (society of musical artists) from 1788 to 1795, vice-president after 1795, and in charge of its concerts until 1818.

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During his time in Vienna, Salieri acquired great prestige as a composer and conductor, particularly of opera, but also of chamber and sacred music. The most successful of his more than 40 operas included Armida (1771), La scuola de' gelosi (1778), Der Rauchfangkehrer (1781), Les Dana?des (1784), which was first presented as a work of Gluck's, Tarare (1787), Axur, Re d'Ormus (1788), Palmira, Regina di Persia (1795), and Falstaff o sia Le tre burle (1799). He wrote comparatively little instrumental music, including two piano concertos and a concerto for organ written in 1773, a concerto for flute, oboe and orchestra (1774), a set of 26 variations on La Follia di Spagna (1815) and several serenades for winds.

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He attained an elevated social standing, and was frequently associated with other celebrated composers like Joseph Haydn or Louis Spohr. He had important role in 19th century classical music: he taught famous composers like Ludwig van Beethoven, Carl Czerny, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Franz Liszt, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Ignaz Moscheles, Franz Schubert and Franz Xaver S?ssmayr. He also taught Mozart's younger son, Franz Xaver.

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Salieri is buried in the Matzleinsdorfer Friedhof (today Zentralfriedhof) in Vienna, Austria. At his funeral service his own Requiem in C minor - composed in 1804 - was performed for the first time. His monument is adorned by a poem written by Joseph Weigl, one of his pupils:

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Rest in peace! Uncovered by dust

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eternity shall bloom for you.

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Rest in peace! In eternal harmonies

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your spirit now is dissolved.

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He expressed himself in enchanting notes,

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now he is floating to everlasting beauty.

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August 18: August 18 is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 135 days remaining....

May 7: May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). There are 238 days remaining....

1825: 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar)....

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