Besozzi, Antonio
Besozzi, Alessandro, *22 July 1702 Parma, †26 July 1793 Turin, Italian oboist. He belonged to a family of musicians specialising in oboe playing, representatives of which are mentioned in sources from the 16th to the 19th centuries. He learned from his father, Cristofor Besozzi. He was active, among others, in Parma, in Guardia Irishese military oboe band created by Fr. Antonio Farnese, and later at the court of Charles Emmanuel III in Turin; he went on concert trips (e.g. in 1735, he performed with his brother in Paris), composed several concertos, as well as over 100 sonatas and trios for various chamber ensembles (7 opuses published in Paris and London).
Literature (selection): M. Fürstenau Zur Geschichte der Musik und des Theaters am Hofe zu Dresden, vol. 2, Dresden 1862, reprint Leipzig 1971; B. Haynes Music for Oboe, 1650–1800: a Bibliography, Berkeley 1992; T. Wind Alessandro Besozzi (1702–1793): Porträt eines Virtuosen, „Tibia” 11 (1986), issue 1; B. Haynes The Eloquent Oboe: A History of the Hautboy from 1640 to 1760, Oxford 2001; D. Verga Besozzi e Farinelli: origini di un sodalizio artistico nella Parma del tramonto farnesiano, „Recercare” XVIII (2006).