Besozzi, Antonio (EN)

Besozzi, Antonio, *1714 Parma, †1781 Turin, Italian oboists, Alessandro’s nephew. He belonged to a family of musicians specialising in oboe playing, representatives of which are mentioned in sources from the 16^th to the 19^th centuries. In the beginning, he worked at the court of the Duke of Parma in the Guardia Irlandese band, he also performed in Naples. In 1738–1774 (with minor breaks), he belonged to the band of the Polish king Augustus III and then of the Elector of Saxony, Frederick Augustus, in Dresden. In the last years of his life, he was active in Turin. With Antonio Besozzi (later also his son) in mind, he introduced J.A. Hasse’s arias with oboes obbligato in his operas.

Literature: M. Fürstenau Zur Geschichte der Musik und des Theaters am Hofe zu Dresden, vol. 2, Dresden 1862 reprint Leipzig 1971; B. Haynes The Eloquent Oboe: A History of the Hautboy from 1640 to 1760, Oxford 2001.