Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista

 (1710-1736)

Italian composer, born in Iesi, near Ancona, and educated at the conservatory in Naples.

 His first important work was the oratorio The Conversion of St William of Aquitaine (1731). Two years later he wrote La serva padrona (The Maid as Mistress), a comic opera now considered his masterpiece, which gained him universal fame and became a model for short comic operas. In 1734 Pergolesi was appointed choirmaster of the Church of Loreto, but tuberculosis forced him to retire to Pozzuoli.

The works of his last two years include a Stabat Mater, considered his finest work for chorus and orchestra. Among his other compositions are a large body of church music, a violin concerto, and chamber music. Pergolesi's tuneful, clearly phrased melodies contributed to the formation of the pre-Classical style in music. After his death his music became so popular that many works by others were ascribed to him by publishers.

In 1919, Stravinsky based his ballet Pulcinella on works by Pergolesi, but even some of these have been discovered to be by others.