Ferdinando Bertoni

Ferdinando Bertoni ( born August 15, 1725 in Salò, Brescia, † December 1, 1813 in Desenzano, Lake Garda ) was an Italian organist, conductor and composer.

Life

Ferdinando Bertoni started his education at home in Salò, went in 1744 to Bologna and became a pupil of the famous Padre Martini. The end of 1745 he moved to Venice, where he worked as an organist and harpsichord teacher. In the same year came here his first opera La Vedova accorta for performance, which quickly found its way to Florence and Milan as well. 1752 the place he became the first organist at San Marco. He was now an established musician and composer and created in the following years, many operas and oratorios, the most experienced successful performances, tours took him to Naples, Parma, Padua and Turin. An encounter with Mozart and his father Leopold in 1771 falls into this time.

In 1778 he was suspended for two years and traveled to London, where he, among many other distinguished musicians also met Johann Christian Bach. Again, his operas were performed with success. After another short stay in England, he returned in 1784 finally in his Italian homeland. The following year found out his career as a musician, their crowning glory: his body was transferred as assistant conductor at San Marco. He held until 1808, this important office. He then retired at his own request to Desenzano in the circle of his deceased sister's family and spent his last years.

Work

The focus of his work is undoubtedly in vocal music. There are 49 of his operas, oratorios, 21 and 13 cantatas survived, among other little the face only six symphonies and several chamber works (6 String Quartets and 6 sonatas for piano and violin ). During his lifetime, he became a composer purely instrumental works hardly appear. Of the numerous listed under his name sacred works are probably quite a few actually assign Padre Martini, which he called " collegial assistance " was concerned frequently to such.

Style and meaning

His operas were fully committed to the style of Italian opera of his time, only in very few cases he was able to get rid of these conventions. It is the chamber music works that were largely ignored during his life, in which he went beyond the rigid rules of Italian opera music.