Bartolomeo Bortolazzi

Bartolomeo Bortolazzi (born Toscolano-Maderno 1772; died 1846 ) was a performing musician, composer, author, and virtuoso of both the guitar and the mandolin. He was credited by music historian Philip J. Bone as helping to pull the mandolin out of decline. Early life Bortolazzi was born to musical parents, and when quite a child studied the mandolin. At a very early age, he made concert tours through northern Italy, meeting with considerable success. In the year 1800, he visited England where he was well received, remaining there two years and surprising the English audiences with his instrument. Among his published works we find a method for the guitar entitled: New theoretical and practical guitar school, Op. 21, and a method for the mandolin entitled School for the mandolin, violin system. The guitar method was published in French and German by Haslinger, Vienna; it was a standard work in Austria during the first part of the nineteenth century, and met with such success that it passed through eight editions up to the year 1833. The first eleven chapters, of his method are devoted to the theoretical part, and the twelfth concerns the instrument. After these twelve introductory ch