Antonio Cesti (bap. 5 August 1623 – 14 October 1669), known today primarily as an Italian composer of the Baroque era, he was also a singer (tenor), and organist. He was "the most celebrated Italian musician of his generation". He was born at Arezzo, and studied with various local musicians. In 1637 he joined the Franciscan order. While he was in Volterra he turned more toward secular music, probably due to the patronage of the powerful Medici family. Here he also came in contact with Salvator Rosa, who wrote librettos for a number of Cesti's cantatas. By 1650 Cesti's calling as a monk and his success as a singer and composer for operas was coming into conflict, and he was officially reprimanded. In 1652 he became a member of the court at Innsbruck of Archduke Ferdinand Karl. After holding a post somewhere in Florence as maestro di cappella, he entered the papal chapel in 1660. In 1666 he became Vice-Kapellmeister at Vienna, and died at Venice in 1669. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Antonio+Cesti">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.