Tomaso Albinoni | Oboe concerto in D minor op. 9

"Oboe Concerto in D minor" has long been regarded as one of the finest concertos composed for the instrument.

Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni (1671-1751) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era.

His output includes operas, concertos, sonatas for one to six instruments, sinfonias, and solo cantatas.

While famous in his day as an opera composer, he is known today for his instrumental music, especially his concertos.

Samuel Scott | London, a view of the Thames and Old Westminster Bridge looking towards Westminster Abbey

Most of his operatic works have been lost - either because they never got published or because they were destroyed.

However, nine collections of instrumental works were published.

These met with considerable success and consequent reprints.

He is therefore known more as a composer of instrumental music (99 sonatas, 59 concerti and 9 sinfonie) today.

In his lifetime these works were compared favourably with those of Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi.

His nine collections published in Italy, Amsterdam, and London were either dedicated to or sponsored by an impressive list of southern European nobility.

Albinoni wrote at least fifty operas, of which twenty-eight were produced in Venice between 1723 and 1740.

Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni (1671-1751)

Albinoni himself claimed 81 operas (naming his second-to-last opera, in the libretto, as his 80th).

In spite of his enormous operatic output, today he is most noted for his instrumental music, especially his oboe concerti (from 12 Concerti a cinque op. 7 and, most famously, 12 Concerti a cinque op. 9).

Antonio Visentini | Concert in a Villa, 1739-40 | Palazzo Contarini Fasan, Venice

La maggior parte delle opere operistiche del compositore e violinista italiano Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751) è andata perduta, o perché non furono mai pubblicate o perché andarono distrutte.

Tuttavia, furono pubblicate nove raccolte di opere strumentali, che riscossero un notevole successo e furono oggetto di numerose ristampe.

Oggi è quindi noto più come compositore di musica strumentale (99 sonate, 59 concerti e 9 sinfonie).

Durante la sua vita, queste opere furono paragonate favorevolmente a quelle di Arcangelo Corelli ed Antonio Vivaldi.

Le sue nove raccolte, pubblicate in Italia, Amsterdam e Londra, furono dedicate o sponsorizzate da un numero impressionante di esponenti della nobiltà dell'Europa meridionale.

Albinoni scrisse almeno cinquanta opere, di cui ventotto prodotte a Venezia tra il 1723 e il 1740.

Lo stesso Albinoni ne rivendicò 81 (indicando la sua penultima opera, nel libretto, come l'ottantesima).

Nonostante la sua enorme produzione operistica, oggi è noto soprattutto per la sua musica strumentale, in particolare per i concerti per oboe (dai 12 Concerti a cinque op. 7 ai più famosi 12 Concerti a cinque op. 9).