The Conservatorio Gaetano Donizetti, more commonly known in English as the Bergamo Conservatory, is a

music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger i ...

Bergamo, Italy Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

. Founded in 1805, the school was an important early conservatory model which had a wide impact on similar schools founded later in Italy. In 2023 the school merged with the

Accademia Carrara The Accademia Carrara, (), officially Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo, is an art gallery and an academy of fine arts in Bergamo, in Lombardy in northern Italy. The art gallery was established in about 1780 by , a Bergamasco collecto ...

to form the

Politecnico delle Arti di Bergamo The Politecnico delle Arti di Bergamo is a conservatory for the arts in Bergamo, Italy. It was formed in January 2023 with the merger of the Bergamo Conservatory and the Accademia Carrara The Accademia Carrara, (), officially Accademia Carra ...

History

The Bergamo Conservatory was founded by the German composer

Simon Mayr Johann(es) Simon Mayr (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr (14 June 1763 – 2 December 1845), was a German composer. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the R ...

in 1805 with the name Lezioni Caritatevoli di Musica. Mayr was then working as the

maestro di cappella ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

of the

Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is a major church in the upper town of Bergamo, Northern Italy. History According to the popular tradition, partially supported by documents, the church was built to comply with a vow made to the Virgin Mary ...

and the school was initially operated by that cathedral. One of Mayr's early pupils at the school was the composer

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...

, and in 1897 the school's name was changed to the Istituto Musicale Gaetano Donizetti in honor of the school's famous alumnus. In 1908 a separate Schola Cantorum was established at the Bergamo Cathedral at which point in time the Bergamo Conservatory ended its relationship with the cathedral and became an autonomous school under the management of the Misericordia Maggiore of Bergamo. In 1958 the conservatory became a public institution under the management of the government of

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

at which point in time the school's name was changed to the Civico Istituto Musicale Gaetano Donizetti. In 2007 the school moved from its historic location in the via Arena area of Bergamo to the via Scotti area of the city. In 2016 the school moved to its present location in newly built headquarters in the Don Luigi Palazzolo. In January 2023 the school merged with the

to form the Politecnico delle Arti di Bergamo.

References

External link

Official Website of the Bergamo Conservatory
{{coord missing, Italy Music schools in Italy Music in Bergamo Schools in Bergamo 1805 establishments in Italy