by Ben Hogwood

Yesterday marked 200 years since the death of the influential composer and teacher, Antonio Salieri, at the age of 74.

Salieri gets a very one-dimensional press these days, known primarily for his rivalry with Mozart, but as with so many of these things there is a whole lot more to the story as far as we can tell it.

As a teacher, Salieri was responsible for helping shape the careers of Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt, along with Hummel and Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus’s son. His keen dramatic instincts were honed by his own teacher Gluck, who became a good friend and was a clear influence on an operatic career whose gems are only just being revealed.

Of course the rivalry with Mozart makes very good press – but without the full knowledge, I’m going to sidestep that and simply present a short playlist of Salieri’s own, highly accomplished music – some from the concert hall and some from the stage:

https://tidal.com/playlist/2b7258fc-919a-4359-b018-4dfde8b9f85b

Complementing the playlist is a new recording of the 1788 opera Cublai, gran kan de’ Tartari, conducted by Christoph Rousset – his fourth venture into the stage works of Salieri for the Aparté label.

Published post no.2,631 – Tuesday 19 August 2025