Editing Simon Mayr (section)

== Life ==
He was born in [[Mendorf]] near [[Altmannstein]], [[Eichstätt (district)|Landkreis Eichstätt]], [[Bavaria]], and studied [[theology]] at the [[University of Ingolstadt]], continuing his studies in Italy from 1787. He was closely associated with the [[Illuminati]] of [[Adam Weishaupt]] while a student in Ingolstadt, and the ideals of the [[Age of Enlightenment|French Enlightenment]] were a strong influence on his philosophy as a musician as corroborated by his famed ''Zibaldone'' or "Notebooks" compiled toward the end of his career.

Shortly thereafter, he took music lessons with [[Carlo Lenzi]], and later with [[Ferdinando Bertoni]]. He moved to [[Bergamo]] in 1802 and was appointed ''[[maestro di cappella]]'' at the [[Cathedral of Bergamo]], succeeding his old teacher Lenzi. He held the post until his death, and became a central figure in the city's musical life, organizing concerts and introducing [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s music there. In 1805 he founded the [[Bergamo Conservatory]]; then known as the Lezioni Caritatevoli di Musica.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |author=Jerome Roche, revised by Rodobaldo Tibaldi|date=2002 |entry=Bergamo |encyclopedia=Grove Music Online|publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.02774}}</ref>  One of his pupils at the conservatory was [[Gaetano Donizetti]]. By the end of his life, he was [[blindness|blind]]. He died in [[Bergamo]] and is buried in the [[Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo|Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore]] there, just in front of the tomb of his famous pupil.

Mayr's works, among which there are almost seventy [[opera]]s, are rarely performed today.