Giambattista Cimador

Biography

Giambattista Cimador was an Italian composer of the classical period. Born a member of a noble Venetian family, in his youth he studied violin, cello, and piano. The first known public performance of his work was in Venice in 1789, when a performance of his opera Ati e Cibele was given. In 1791, Cimador travelled to London where he was active as a singing teacher and interpreter. He met Haydn in Bath in 1794, introducing himself as a virtuoso violinist and composer. He remained in England, working as a composer, pianist, and music publisher in partnership with Tebaldo Monzani, with whom he published Italian and English vocal works and many of Mozart’s major works, including many arias which were arranged by Cimador himself.

Cimador is today known amongst double bassists for his double bass concerto, which was written for the young Domenico Dragonetti whilst still in Venice. The manuscript for this concerto survives, along with additional variations of the rondo finale added by Dragonetti himself as he considered the movement to be too short.