Matteo Carcassi's Biography

Matteo Carcassi was born in Florence, Italy in 1792. Along with Giuliani, Sor, Aguado he has contributed to the expansion of the guitar repertoire. He began studying the piano at first but also learned the guitar early in his childhood. He quickly mastered the instrument and became popular as a virtuoso concert guitarist.

In 1810, he moved to Germany where he rapidly gained fame. By 1815, he was living in Paris, earning his living as a teacher of both the piano and the guitar. On a concert tour in Germany in 1819, he met his friend Antoine Meissonnier for the first time. Also a famous guitarist, Meissonnier published many of Carcassi's works in his Paris publishing house.

From 1820 on, Carcassi lived Paris. In 1822, he performed an extremely successful series of concerts in London that brought him great fame, both as a performing artist and as a teacher. However, in Paris, a long time passed before his talents were truly recognized, partly because of the presence of Fernando Carulli who was “adored” by his audience. Carcassi distinguished himself from the Neapolitan musician by using a different instrumental posture, by performing without touching the fingernails on the strings, and by showing a different musical taste, more melodic and allowing for a richer palette of effects.

Carcassi returned to Germany again during the fall of 1824. Afterwards he performed in London, where his reputation then gave him access to more prestigious concert halls. Finally he returned to Paris. For several years, he performed in the most important cultural towns of Europe.

Carcassi wrote a method for guitar (op. 59) that remains valuable, relevant and interesting. His most famous works are collected in his 25 Etudes op. 60. In these, he managed to blend technical skills and brilliant romantic music. This is the reason his music is still played by so many classical guitarists today. His works have been published and recorded by numerous well known guitarists. He also made several brilliant transcriptions of popular opera arias.

Carcassi abandoned his concert activity around 1840. He died in Paris on the 16th of anuary, 1853. He left almost one hundred works calling for the guitar, all of romantic taste, brilliant and technically demanding.