Gioseffo Zarlino

Gioseffo Zarlino (1517–1590) was an Italian Franciscan composer and the most influential music theorist of the Renaissance, born at Chioggia near Venice. He entered the Franciscan order in 1532 and moved to Venice in 1541 to study with Adrian Willaert.

In 1565 he succeeded Cipriano de Rore as maestro di cappella of St Mark's, holding the post until his death. His writings founded the theory of tonal harmony in the major and minor modes, and his pupils included Claudio Merulo and Vincenzo Galilei.