Matteo Carcassi

Carcassi was born in Florence, Italy, and first studied the piano, but learned guitar when still a child.

For Meissonnier he also arranged a number of popular songs for guitar that were originally written for piano, including works by Théodore Labarre and Loïsa Puget.

However, in Paris, a long time passed before his talents were truly recognized, partly because of the presence of Ferdinando Carulli.

For several years, he made concert trips from here to the important musical centres of Europe.

After a short return to performing in 1836, he quit his concert practice around 1840 and died in Paris in 1853.