Alberto Zelman (senior)
Alberto Zelman (1832 – 28 December 1907) was a Trieste-born Australian composer, music conductor, music teacher, organist and pianist.[1]
He was born at Trieste, Austria (now part of Italy), of Italian parents. He was educated as a musician and made his mark as a conductor in northern Italy. He then went to Calcutta, India, where he was successful for some years as a teacher and conductor, and about 1870 came to Australia as conductor of an opera company. He settled at Melbourne, was much esteemed as a man and as a musician, was for many years conductor of the Melbourne Liedertafel, and was a well-known piano teacher.
Zelman compositions included orchestral works, masses and many solos for the violin. He died at Melbourne in 1907 leaving a widow and four sons.[2]
His son, also named Alberto Zelman, was also a musician and the founder of the Albert Street Conservatorium Orchestra [3] which, in 1927, combined with the Melbourne University Symphony Orchestra[4] to form the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.[5] Another son, Victor Zelman, was a painter and etcher.
References
- The Age (30 December 1907). "The Death of Signor Zelman"
- Radic, Thérèse (1976). "Zelman, Alberto (1832–1907)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 6. Online version retrieved 22 January 2016.
- http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00922b.htm
- https://about.unimelb.edu.au/old-quad/multivocal/tools-of-the-trade
- Wireless Weekly magazine, 29 July 1927 edition