Claudio giovanni antonio monteverdi biography of williams

Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) was an Italian composer, musician and singer, who stood at the crossroads of one of the most crucial periods in musical history.

Life and Music
Born the son of a Cremonese barber-surgeon, Monteverdi began composing at a very early age and had his first book of three-part motets published in Venice when he was 15.

In 1587, he published the first of nine books of madrigals.

This remarkable run was capped by his appointment at the Court of Mantua in 1592, initially as a viol player.

Monteverdi married one of the court singers, Claudia de Cataneis, by whom he had two sons and a daughter.

By the time he was appointed maestro di cappella at Mantua in 1601, Monteverdi was widely recognised as a distinguished composer, a reputation further enhanced by the publication of his Fourth and Fifth Book of Madrigals in 1603 and 1605.

Monteverdi’s period in Venice proved a fitting climax to his career.

In 1619 he published his Seventh Book of Madri