Home > Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music > Salieri, Antonio

famous Italian composer and teacher;b. Legnago, near Verona, Aug. 18, 1750; d. Vienna, May 7, 1825. Salieri studied violin and harpsichord with his brother, Francesco, then continued violin studies with the local organist, Giuseppe Simoni. He was orphaned in 1765 and subsequently was taken to Venice, where he studied THOROUGHBASS with Giovanni Pescetti, deputy maestro di cappella of San Marco, and singing with Ferdinando Pacini, a tenor there.

Florian Gassmann brought Salieri to Vienna in 1766 and provided for his musical training and a thorough education in the liberal arts. There he came into contact with Pietro Metastasio and CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK, the latter becoming his patron and friend. Salieri's first known OPERA, LA VESTALE (not extant), was premiered in Vienna in 1768. His comic opera Le Donne letterate was successfully performed at the Burgtheater in 1770. The influence of Gluck is revealed in his first major production for the stage, Armida, from 1771.

Upon the death of Gassmann in 1774, Salieri was appointed his successor as court composer and conductor of the Italian Opera. After Gluck was unable to fulfill the commission for an opera to open the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the authorities turned to Salieri, whose L'Europa riconosciuta inaugurated the great opera house in 1778. While in Italy he also composed operas for Venice and Rome. He then returned to Vienna, where he brought out his LUSTSPIEL, Der Rauchfangkehrer, in 1781.

With Gluck's encouragement, Salieri set his sights on Paris. In an effort to provide him with a respectful hearing, Gluck and the directors of the Paris Opéra advertised Salieri's Les Danaïdes in 1784 as a work from Gluck's pen. Following a number of performances, it was finally acknowledged as Salieri's creation.

Returning to Vienna, Salieri composed three more stage works, including the successful La grotta di Trofonio in 1785. In 1786 Salieri wrote again for the Paris Opéra, unsuccessfully, but a year later his next French opera, TARARE, was a triumphant success. After Da Ponte revised and translated Beaumarchais's French LIBRETTO into Italian and Salieri thoroughly recomposed the score, it was given as Axur, re d'Ormus (Axur, king of Ormus) in Vienna in 1788, and subsequently performed throughout Europe to great acclaim.

Salieri was appointed court kapellmeister in Vienna in 1788, holding that position until 1824, although he did not conduct operatic performances after 1790. He continued to compose for the stage until 1804, his last major success being Palmira, regina di Persia (Palmira, queen of Persia) in 1795.

Salieri's influence on the musical life of Vienna was considerable. From 1788 to 1795 he was president of the Tonkünstler-Sozietät, the benevolent society for musicians founded in 1771. He was its vice president from 1795, and also a founder of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. He was widely celebrated as a pedagogue, his pupils including LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, JOHANN NEPOMUK HUMMEL, FRANZ SCHUBERT, Carl Czerny, and FRANZ LISZT. He received numerous honors, including the Gold Medallion and Chain of the City of Vienna. He was also made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor and a member of the French Institute.

But Salieri's eminence and positions in Vienna also earned him a reputation for intrigue. Many unfounded stories circulated about him, culminating in the fantastic tale that he poisoned WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART. This tale prompted Aleksandr Pushkin to write his drama Mozart and Salieri, which subsequently was set to music by NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV.

Salieri was a worthy representative of the traditional Italian school of operatic composition. He was a master of HARMONY and ORCHESTRATION. His many operas are noteworthy for their expressive melodic writing and sensitive vocal treatment. All the same, few held the stage for long, and all have disappeared from the active repertoire.

Salieri also composed numerous sacred works, secular works, including CANTATAS, choruses, and songs, and instrumental pieces.