Antonio Salieri

Antonio Salieri (1750–1825) was an Italian composer born in Legnago who spent his career in Habsburg Vienna. Taken there as an orphaned pupil of Florian Leopold Gassmann and later patronised by Gluck, he directed the court Italian opera from 1774 to 1792 and served as imperial Kapellmeister from 1788 to 1824, responsible for music at the court chapel.

His operas, written in Italian, French and German, were performed across Europe, and he taught Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt and Hummel. He wrote no operas after 1804, and vehemently denied rumours that he had poisoned Mozart.