Alessandro Marcello

A Venetian patrician, Alessandro Marcello wrote, painted, philosophised and composed, and took an active part in the public life of the Republic. Like his younger brother Benedetto he belonged to the Accademia degli Arcadi, under the pastoral name Eterio Stinfalico. Cantatas, arias, sonatas and concertos came from him, including the six published as La Cetra. Bach transcribed his Oboe Concerto in D minor for keyboard as BWV 974. Its authorship was attributed to Benedetto and at times to Vivaldi, before modern scholarship returned it to Alessandro. He was born in 1673 and educated at the Collegio di S. Antonio, entered the Venetian Accademia degli Animosi in 1698 and served the Republic as a diplomat, putting on concerts in his own city; he died in 1747. The oboe concerto has been printed many times over, among them a version transposed to C minor.