Carlo Tessarini came from a family of seafarers. Little is known of his childhood and studies, some sources suggest that he received his musical education in the Venetian surroundings, possibly as a student of Antonio Vivaldi. Carlo Tessarini was first mentioned as a violinist at St. Mark's Cathedral. Until 1731 he was music director ("maestro dei concerti") of the "Ospedale del Derelitti," one of Venice's four orphanages. It was here that he composed his Concerto à cinque op. 1. In 1731 he obtained a position in the "capella musicale" of Urbino Cathedral, which he held until 1743, although in the meantime he was Kapellmeister to Cardinal Schrattenbach in Brno from 1730 to 1737. In 1740 Tessarini took over the direction of a theater orchestra in Rome, which he had to give up after the death of Pope Clement XII.
After 1747 Tessarini resided in Rome and Naples and later in countries north of the Alps. His concert tours took him to Paris, Brussels, Nijmegen, Groningen and Frankfurt am Main. From 1766 his trail is lost in Arnhem. Carlo Tessarini was not only a violinist known throughout much of Europe, but also a celebrated composer, as numerous press articles from his time attest. He wrote melodramas, sonatas for violin, concertos for one or more instruments, and symphonies.
