Child Composers in the Old Conservatories: How Orphans Became Elite Musicians

In seventeenth century Italy, overcrowding, violent political uprising, and plague led an astonishing number of abandoned and orphaned children to overwhelm the cities.Out of the piety of private citizens and the apathy of local governments, the system of conservatori was created to house, nurture, and train these fanciulli vaganti (roaming children) to become hatters, shoemakers, tailors, goldsmiths, cabinet makers, and musicians - a range of practical trades that might sustain them and enable them to contribute to society.Conservatori were founded across Italy, from Venice and Florence to Parma and Naples, many specializing in a particular trade.Four music conservatori in Naples gained particular renown for their exceptional training of musicians, both performers and composers, all boys.By the eighteenth century, the graduates of the Naples conservatories began to spread across Europe, with some 600 boys formerly in residence beginning to dominate the European musical world.Other con