Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (Jesi, 1710 - Pozzuoli, 1736)
Giovanni Battista Draghi nicknamed Pergolesi moved to Naples for musical studies. With his delicate and brilliant music he became a symbol of the Neapolitan school. The "Stabat Mater", composed in the last days of his short life, has always been in the repertory also studied and edited by J. S. Bach. The melancholic affairs of this unlucky ill and in love artist who died young, made him a sentimental myth of the nineteenth century. In his honor, the asteroid 6624 P-L was named 7622 Pergolesi.
Alessandro Scarlatti (Palermo, 1660 - Naples, 1725)
Alessandro Scarlatti considered for a long time the founder of the "Neapolitan School" was active at the Viceregal Court of Naples and later, in other Italian Courts. The most prestigious Neapolitan music associations were dedicated to him and named "Alessandro Scarlatti" and also the great concert hall of the Conservatory of San Pietro a Maiella. He had many sons who were successful musicians and their destinies were similar to JSBach’s.
Domenico Sarro (Trani, 1679 - Naples, 1744)
Domenico Sarro composed "Achilles in Sciro", which in 1737 was chosen for the opening of the new theater of King Charles of Bourbon, San Carlo. The show attracted the public and word spread very quickly. The masterpiece, which excited the public, has been continuously repeated in recent times, raising many music student’s interest. The composer was active in various religious and orchestral institutions of the time, but wasn’t interested in the conservatory life style.
Domenico Scarlatti (Naples, 1685 - Madrid, 1757)
Domenico Scarlatti, was Alessandro’s most famous son and he was a very renowned composer. He was loved by the audience, although he only left a few sonata collections after his death named "esercizi" for keyboard instruments. The “esercizi” that were found for the joy of all, are today famous for both harpsichord and piano editions. Often the pianists open their recitals with Domenico's brilliant Sonatas or play his masterpieces during their performances as out of programme extras. According to some admirers the extraordinary rhythmic, thematic and formal fantasy of this collection makes it the counterpart of the “Well-Tempered Harpsichord” of J.S.Bach.
Nicola Porpora (Naples, 1686? - 1766)
Nicola Porpora was the master of the famous castrated Farinelli and Porporino, and master of Haydn. He was very active in Naples and Venice, with commitments and success in London, Dresden and Vienna. Initially he was the chapel master of Prince Philip of Assia-Darmstadt, then he connected to the Habsburgs. He also participated in musical and artistic contests but almost always without success. He was a very able and renowned teacher, a fecundous composer, who was especially appreciated in the theater.
Leonardo Vinci (Strongoli, 1690 - Naples, 1730)
Leonardo Vinci, known as a player, as the press of the time tells us, died young and in mysterious circumstances, without even leaving money to cover his funeral. He was active both in the city and abroad, at the Prince of Sansevero and at the Chapel of the Court of Naples. His most famous master piece at the time, and also now, is the muscial in Neapolitan dialect "Lo cecato fauzo” of 1719.
Leonardo Leo (San Vito dei Normanni, 1694 - Naples, 1744)
Leonardo Leo was a lucky and fruitful composer in all kinds of music, present in all the Neapolitan musical institutions during an intense career. It was for this reason that he remained connected to Naples, and departed rarely to work on his masterpieces. At the "Pietà de 'Turchini" conservatory, where he had studied, he was the master of Jommelli and Piccinni, who became composers at a European level.
Francesco Provenzale (Naples, 1624 - 1704)
Francesco Provenzale born in Naples. Among the major composers of the "Neapolitan School", has been recently recognized as the founder. He was an important author of theatrical musicals, one of the most relevant characters of the “Neapolitan School". He was mainly active in Naples, teaching in various conservatories. His didactic activity formed the most important Neapolitan composers of the early eighteenth century.
Niccolò Jommelli (Aversa, 1714 - Naples 1774)
Niccolò Jommelli was a very gifted composer with almost instant recognition and fame: he was soon invited to work in Bologna, Venice, Rome (where he was master and co-author in St. Peter), then mostly in Stuttgart, where he met Mozart, who certainly took into account his opera production. His opera and sacred music stood out compared to the rest of his Neapolitan colleagues thanks to his brilliant orchestral masterpieces, perhaps the most delightful achievement of his stay in German-speaking countries.
Niccolò Piccinni (Bari 1728 - Passy 1800)
Niccolò Piccinni was active especially as an intense opera composer, whose music still convinces the public immediately. He reached top fame in Paris, but the directors of the Grand Opera deliberately opposed Christoph Willibald Gluck, persuading the two composers to treat the same subject - Iphigénie en Tauride - at the same time. The Parisian public split into two, Gluckists and Piccinnians, almost two factions at war. At the outbreak of the French Revolution, in 1789, Piccinni returned to Naples, where he was well received by King Ferdinand IV; in 1798 he returned to Paris, where the audience received him with enthusiasm. He died at Passy, near the French capital.
Giovanni Paisiello (Taranto, 1740 - Naples, 1816)
Giovanni Paisiello was a highly considered composer by four sovereigns: Ferdinand IV of Bourbon King of Naples; Catherine II Zarina of all the Russians, who wanted him for a period at her court in St. Petersburg; Napoleon The French Emperor, for whom he wrote music for imperial consecration (it is the music that we should imagine as the soundtrack of David's famous painting); Giuseppe Bonaparte, King of Naples, for whom he wrote the dramatic song for the decade of the Neapolitan Revolution of 1799. His unmistakable fame is tied mainly to the varied and vibrant theatrical production: the "Nina, pazza per amore," a model of sentimental work, of almost romantic feeling (Beethoven also used a theme for a cycle of variations), and the brilliant "Barber of Seville" then shadowed by Rossini's version.
Domenico Cimarosa (Aversa, 1749 - Venice, 1801)
Domenico Cimarosa, a composer of immense success in Naples, St. Petersburg and Vienna, had the exceptional luck of seeing his most brilliant and famous masterpiece, "The Secret Wedding" almost immediately reproduced, perhaps the only masterpiece of a composer of the Neapolitan School that has remained in the repertory. Gifted with melodic music in his veins, he was the author of instrumental, sacred, theatrical, tragic and comic music. Involved in the Neapolitan Revolution of 1799 and then imprisoned, he was then sent to exile and died in Venice already famous and almost considered as a myth.
