author
Alfredo Untersteiner
1859–1918
A lawyer by training and a violinist at heart, this Italian music historian wrote lively, accessible books that helped bring the story of music to a wide readership. His best-known works trace the development of music and violin playing with the clarity of a practiced teacher.
1 Audiobook
Storia della musica
by Alfredo Untersteiner
About the author
Born in Rovereto in 1859, Alfredo Untersteiner studied law in Innsbruck while also attending music school. He later practiced law in Merano, but music remained central to his life and work.
Untersteiner became known as a musicologist, critic, and accomplished violinist. Reference sources credit him with writing Storia della musica, first published in the 1890s and reprinted many times, as well as Storia del violino, dei violinisti e della musica per violino. He also contributed to Italian music periodicals, including the Gazzetta musicale di Milano and the Rivista musicale of Turin.
Sources consulted during this search agree on Rovereto as his birthplace and place his death in Merano in 1918, though one library record lists December 30, 1917. Because no suitable verified portrait image could be confirmed from the pages found, no profile image is included here.