Antonio Besozzi (1714–1781) was an Italian oboist and composer and also member of an extensive family of musicians from the eighteenth-century Naples. He composed several concertos for oboe and a few quintets, which he called "sonatas", for two oboes, two horns and a bassoon. Besozzi was born in Parma, the son of oboist Giuseppe Besozzi and brother of

Girolamo Besozzi Girolamo Besozzi (1745 or 1750 in Naples – 1788 in Paris) was an Italian composer and oboist and member of a renowned family of wind players. Son of composer Gaetano Besozzi and nephew of Antonio Besozzi, he became oboist in the court orchestra ...

. He was from 8 October 1727 to 1731 a member of the Ducal ''Guardia Irlandese,'' a hautboy band created in 1702 by Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma. From 1734 he was active in Naples until the birth of his son

Carlo Besozzi Carlo Besozzi (1738 – 22 March 1791) was an Italian oboist composer and member of an extensive family of oboists from the eighteenth-century Naples. Nephew of Gaetano Besozzi, he was employed in the orchestra of the Elector of Dresden and t ...

in 1738, when he left for Dresden to join the orchestra of the Royal Chapel and become its first oboist in 1739.Antonio, considered one of the most famous oboists of his time, had a salary of 800

Thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...

s by 2 October 1739, and from 1745 of 1200 Thalers a month. In 1754 he was joined by his son and in early 1757 they travelled to England, where they were known as the ''Signori Besozzi.'' In December of that same year they moved to Paris, where they played the Concert Spirituel. In the years 1758-59 he was in the service of the court of Stuttgart, under the direction of

Niccolò Jommelli Niccolò Jommelli (; 10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic reforms including redu ...

, after which they returned to Dresden until he resigned in 1774. His son continued to play until 1792 though. In May 1778 he played in Salzburg with his son, having been held in high esteem by

Leopold Mozart Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (November 14, 1719 – May 28, 1787) was a German composer, violinist and theorist. He is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook ''Versuch einer gründlichen ...

. He then returned to Dresden and after then to Turin, where he settled until his death in 1781.

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;Attribution *''This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the Italian Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there at the'' History ''section.'' 1714 births 1781 deaths Male oboists Italian oboists 18th-century Italian composers 18th-century composers 18th-century Italian musicians 18th-century Italian male musicians Italian male composers Musicians from Parma {{Italy-composer-stub