François-Joseph Gossec (1734 — 1829) was a Belgian composer of operas, string quartets, symphonies, and choral works who worked in France. He is seen as an important figure in the development of the French symphony. Other key works include his Requiem or Messe de Morts, whilst more well-known shorter pieces include Tambourin and the Gavotte. The Requiem was later admired by Mozart, who visited Gossec in 1778, and described him in a letter to his father as "a very good friend and a very dry man". He was little known outside France, and his own numerous compositions, sacred and secular, were overshadowed by those of more famous composers; but he was an inspiration to many, and powerfully stimulated the revival of instrumental music. At the time of writing, recordings of the Requiem and most of Gossec's symphonies are widely available although his other sacred works are difficult to source. A more detailed biography and list of works can be found in Gossec's entry on Wikipedia <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Gossec">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.