Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

Giovanni Battista Draghi (Italian: [dʒoˈvanni batˈtista ˈdraːɡi]; 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736), often referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (Italian: [perɡoˈleːzi; -eːsi]), was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist, and organist, leading exponent of the Baroque; he is considered one of the greatest Italian musicians of the first half of the 18th century and one of the most important representatives of the Neapolitan school. Despite his short life and few years of activity (he died of tuberculosis at the age of 26), he managed to create works of high artistic value and historical importance, among which we remember La serva padrona (The Maid Turned Mistress), of the highest importance for the development and diffusion of the opera buffa in Europe, L'Olimpiade, considered one of the masterpieces of the opera seria of the first half of the eighteenth century, and the Stabat Mater, among the most important works of sacred music of all time.

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