Antonio Bertali

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Antonio Bertali (March, 1605 – April 17, 1669) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era.

He was born in Verona and received early music education there. In 1622, he entered the service of Archduke Carl-Joseph of Austria (1590-1624), after whose premature death he was employed as court musician in Vienna by Emperor Ferdinand II. In 1649 Bertali succeeded Giovanni Valentini as court Kapellmeister. He died in Vienna in 1669, aged sixty-four.

Bertali's compositions are in the manner of other northern Italian composers of the time and include operas, oratorios and chamber music. Particularly his operas are notable for establishing the tradition of Italian opera seria in Vienna. Approximately half of his output is now lost; copies survive made by Bertali's contemporary, Pavel Josef Vejvanovský, some of the pieces are currently in possession of Vienna's Hofbibliothek, the library of the Kremsmünster Abbey and the Kroměříž archive. The most important source for Bertali's work is, however, the Viennese Distinta Specificatione catalogue, which lists composers of the Habsburg court and gives details on every composition.