Arriaga, Juan Crisóstomo de 01/27/1806 - 02/17/1826

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga(1806-1826), was born on January 27, the day Mozart would have been 50 years old, and is known as the "Spanish Mozart." He wrote his earliest known works at the tender age of 11. His first opera, "Los esclavos felices" ("The Happy Slaves") was premiered in his native city of Bilbao in 1820. He was accepted to the Paris Conservatoire by Cherubini; there he studied composition with Fétis and violin with Baillot. In 1823 he won the "second prix" in counterpoint and fugue. His early death, probably due to tuberculosis, prevented the full flowering of his potential.