Giuseppe Donizetti was, from 1828, Instructor General of the Imperial Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 Music at the court of Sultan Mahmud II

Mahmud II

Mahmud II was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, the son of Sultan Abdulhamid I...

 (1808–39).

His younger brother Gaetano Donizetti

Gaetano Donizetti

Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...

 was a famous Italian opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 composer. Born in Bergamo

Bergamo

Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 became a second home for the elder Donizetti, where he lived until his death in 1856.

Donizetti Paşa

Pasha

Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...

, as he was called in the Levant, played a significant role in the introduction of European music to the Ottoman military

Military of the Ottoman Empire

The history of military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years between 1300 and 1453 , the classical period covers the years between 1451 and 1606 , the reformation period covers the years between 1606 and 1826 ,...

. Apart from overseeing the training of the European-style military bands of Mahmud’s modern army, he taught music at the palace to the members of the Ottoman royal family, the princes and the ladies of the harem, is believed to have composed the first national anthem of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman imperial anthem

The Ottoman Empire used anthems since its foundation in the late 13th century, but did not use a specific royal or national anthem until the 19th century. During the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, when the military and imperial band were re-organized along Western lines, Giuseppe Donizetti was invited...

, supported the annual Italian opera

Italian opera

Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous operas in Italian were written by foreign composers,...

 season in Pera, organised concerts and operatic performances at court, and played host to a number of eminent virtuosi who visited Istanbul at the time, such as Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...

, Parish Alvars and Leopold de Meyer.

He is buried in the vaults of the St. Esprit Cathedral

St. Esprit Cathedral, Istanbul

The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, alternatively known as the St. Esprit Cathedral, Italian: Cattedrale di Santo Spirito, or Cattedrale dello Spirito Santo, located on Cumhuriyet Avenue, 205/B, Harbiye, between Taksim Square and Nişantaşı, is one of the principal churches of the Catholic Church in...

, near the Beyoğlu

Beyoglu

Beyoğlu is a district located on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city by the Golden Horn...

 district of Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, in Pera

Pera

Pera may refer to:People* Marcus Junius Pera, Roman dictator* Alfredo Le Pera , Brazilian journalist* Marcello Pera , Italian philosopher and politician* Marília Pêra , Brazilian actress* Patrick Péra , French figure skater...

.

Emre Araci

Emre Araci

Emre Aracı, Turkish music historian, conductor, composer.- Life :Dr Emre Aracı is a Turkish music historian, composer and conductor who has been living in the United Kingdom since 1987...

published a comprehensive biography of Giuseppe Donizetti in Turkish in 2007 (See: Osmanli Sarayi'nin Italyan Maestrosu, YKY Istanbul, 2007). The volume "Giuseppe Donizetti Pasha: Musical and Historical Trajectories between Italy and Turkey", edited by Federico Spinetti, was published in English and Italian by the Fondazione Donizetti in 2010.