Alessandro Stradella (1642-1682); ITA

Alessandro Stradella (1643–1682) was an Italian composer whose adventurous life became nearly as famous as his music. Probably born near Rome, he worked for aristocratic patrons while becoming entangled in financial and romantic scandals. He fled Rome and later Venice under dangerous circumstances and eventually settled in Genoa, where he was murdered in 1682.

Stradella composed operas, oratorios, cantatas, serenatas, and instrumental music and was important in the development of the late-seventeenth-century Italian Baroque. His works include the oratorio San Giovanni Battista and the opera Il Trespolo tutore. His instrumental writing includes early examples of contrasting solo and ensemble groups that anticipated aspects of the concerto grosso.

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Read biography at allmusic.com.