Although he lived only a short time, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi composed some of the eighteenth century’s most beloved works, among them the sacred duet Stabat Mater and the comic intermezzo La serva padrona. In fact, Pergolesi was so much admired that after his death, unscrupulous musicians saw his name as a ticket to success, forging Pergolesi’s name to hundreds of works that the composer never touched. As a result, scholars […]

Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy into a family with a long history of music. After the death of his father when he was only five years old, he was sent to study with his uncle Fortunato Magi, who considered him to be a poor and undisciplined student. Later, he took the position of church organist, but it was not until he saw a performance of Verdi‘s Aida that he became inspired to be an opera composer. […]