Abramo Basevi (December 1818 – November 1885) was an Italian musicologist and composer. Basevi was born in Livorno. He began as a physician in Florence (1858) but then devoted himself exclusively to music. His first attempts as a composer failed but in time he composed operas (''Romilda ed Ezzelino'' 1840; and ''Enrico Howard'', 1847) and other music. Basevi was editor of the musical journal ''L'Armonia''. He founded the Beethoven Matinées (1859), which developed into the Società del Quartetto, a source of influence upon the musical life of Florence and Italy in general. Basevi offered an annual prize in this connection for the best string quartet. In 1863 Basevi founded the Concerti Popolari di Musica Classica. He was a frequent contributor to musical periodicals, and was the author of ''Studio sulle Opere di G. Verdi'' (1859), ''Introduzione ad un Nuovo Sistema d'Armonia'' (1862), and ''Compendio della Storia della Musica'' (1866). He died in Florence.

Sources

Abramo Basevi article
in Jewish Encyclopedia
Studio sulle opere di Giuseppe Verdi, di A. Basevi
from the Sibley Music Library Digital Score Collection 1818 births 1885 deaths Italian opera composers Male opera composers Italian musicologists Italian classical musicians 19th-century Italian Jews Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Jewish classical composers 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Italian writers Livornese Jews 19th-century Italian composers 19th-century Italian male writers 19th-century Italian male musicians 19th-century musicologists {{Italy-composer-stub