Pietro Nardini

Pietro Nardini (1722–1793) was an Italian composer and violinist, a transitional musician who worked in both the Baroque and Classical era traditions. Nardini was born in Livorno and studied music at Livorno, later becoming a pupil of Giuseppe Tartini. He moved to Germany where he joined the court chapel in Stuttgart, becoming conductor in 1762. However, he abandoned his duties there in 1765 to become Kapellmeister, in 1770, to the Grand Duke of Tuscany in Florence. As a friend of Leopold Mozart, he witnessed the arrival of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on his first visit to Italy and his attempts to find a sustainable position in 1770–1771. Nardini was a teacher to Bartolomeo Campagnoli, Giovanni Francesco Giuliani and probably also to Gaetano Brunetti. He died in Florence on 7 May 1793, aged 71. Though Nardini was not a prolific composer, his works are known for their melodious tunes and usefulness in technical studies. Among the best known are the Sonata in D major and the Concerto in E minor.