Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

Pergolesi's style epitomizes the galant—elegant, tuneful, emotionally direct without Baroque complexity. His melodic lines are graceful and natural, supported by simple harmonies that let expression shine. He wrote idiomatically for voices, understanding how melody and text could fuse into seemingly spontaneous song.

The Neapolitan opera tradition shaped his theatrical works. His teachers included Gaetano Greco and Francesco Durante. His influence extended to Mozart, Haydn, and the entire Classical style—the galant aesthetic he embodied became the next generation's lingua franca.

Pergolesi's entire career compressed into six years. Early church music led to operatic commissions in Naples. La serva padrona's success established the opera buffa format. The Stabat Mater, composed while dying of tuberculosis, became his masterpiece and most enduring work.

So much music was spuriously attributed to Pergolesi after his early death (capitalizing on his fame) that scholars spent centuries sorting out what he actually wrote. Works bearing his name outsold all other composers combined for decades, though many weren't his at all.

Stravinsky based his ballet Pulcinella on what he thought was Pergolesi's music—most turned out to be by other composers, but the misattribution doesn't diminish either Pergolesi's actual achievement or Stravinsky's brilliant recomposition.

The Stabat Mater remains standard choral repertoire, performed constantly by chamber orchestras and choirs. La serva padrona appears regularly in baroque opera programming. The sacred motets are early music staples. His historical importance ensures steady programming despite the small catalog.