Salvatore Pappalardo (1817–1884) was an Italian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and conductor. Born in

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, Pappalardo began his studies in his home city before entering the

Palermo Conservatory The Conservatorio di Musica Alessandro Scarlatti (English: Conservatory of Music Alessandro Scarlatti), better known in English as the Palermo Conservatory, is a music conservatory in Palermo, Italy. One of the oldest music schools in Italy, the or ...

where he studied under

Pietro Raimondi Pietro Raimondi (December 20, 1786, Rome – October 30, 1853) was an Italian composer, transitional between the Classical and Romantic eras. While he was famous at the time as a composer of operas and sacred music, he was also as an innovat ...

. He worked as a music teacher and was a conductor at the opera house in Catania until he moved to Naples in 1845 when he was made the court composer for

Prince Leopold, Count of Syracuse Prince Leopold of the Two Sicilies (22 May 1813, in Palermo – 4 December 1860, in Pisa) was a House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, prince of the Two Sicilies and was known as the Count of Syracuse. Life Leopold was the third son of Francis I of the ...

. He later worked as a teacher of music theory and composition in Naples. He died in Naples in 1884. Pappalardo's work as a composer was mainly directed towards composing

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s and other music for the theatre. He composed eight operas: ''Francesca da Rimini'' (1844), ''Il corsaro'' (Naples, 1846), ''La figlia del Doge'' (Catania, 1855), ''L'atrabiliare'' (Naples, 1856), ''Mirinda'' (Naples, 1860), ''Gustavo Wasa'' (Naples, 1865), ''Le diavolesse'' (Naples, 1878), and ''Le due ambasciatrici'' (never performed). He also composed a significant amount of church music. His most successful and innovative music however, was his

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

; particularly his collection of art songs for voice and piano and a collection of

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

s and quintets. His chamber music was played throughout Italy and Germany.

References

N. Giannotta. ''Secoli di musica catanese'' (Catania, 1968)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pappalardo, Salvatore 1817 births 1884 deaths Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Italian composers Italian conductors (music) Italian male conductors (music) 19th-century conductors (music) Musicians from Catania