Italian composer (1750-1825) who at age 24 was appointed to Joseph II's imperial court in Vienna, for whom he wrote many operas. In 1782, the Opéra de Paris requested his services to replace an ailing Gluck. Whilst pursuing his career in Vienna he travelled regularly to Paris where his bespoke operas were greatly appreciated. Around 1800, after meeting Mozart he vitrtually stopped writing operas. His output over 30 years included a wide variety of operas, some for radically different venues. He was an outstanding teacher and trained many famous musicians including Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt.
