Giovanni Benedetto Platti

Giovanni Benedetto Platti was an Italian composer and performer from the transitional period between the Baroque and Classical eras. During his lifetime he was known mostly as a performer and for his sacred vocal music, but he also composed concertos, and works for solo instruments and chamber ensembles. He was born in the 1690s in either Padua or Venice, and not much else is known about the first 30 years of his life. It’s very likely that he received some musical instruction from his father Carlo, who was a musician in the orchestra of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. He also would have had access to other prominent music teachers who were active at the time, including Albinoni, Vivaldi, and several others. By 1722, Platti was an accomplished singer, and he was considered a virtuoso at the oboe, harpsichord, and at least three other instruments. He worked with an ensemble led by Fortunato Chelleri until 1723, when he became appointed as an oboist to the court of Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn, the Prince-Archbishop of Würzburg. That same year, he married Maria Theresia Lambrucker, who was also a singer of the court. They eventually had eight children together, and they remained in Würzburg for the rest of their lives. After the Prince's death in 1724, many of the court musicians were dismissed and the musical activities of the court were greatly reduced. However, Platti’s situation improved in 1729, when his close friend Count Rudolf Franz Erwein von Schönborn became the Prince-Archbishop. The new Prince restored the musical community of the court, and Platti was appointed two additional positions as second violinist and tenor vocalist. Platti and his wife were both highly respected and appreciated by the Prince and fellow musicians, and they lived happy and comfortable lives. As a composer Platti utilized musical concepts from the Baroque such as sequences and fortspinnung, and also innovative ideas like the sonata form and cadenzas. The inclusion of dynamics in some of his keyboard works may also indicate that he was aware of the fortepiano and its dynamic capabilities. Platti’s only known portrait was painted in a fresco at the Würzburg Residenz in the early 1750s. He passed away in 1763 in Würzburg. Since the 2000s, his music has been recorded by numerous artists including Abel Selaocoe, Radio Antiqua, and Alexa Raine-Wright. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi