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Francesco Paolo Tosti music biography continued...

Italy, Tosti began his music education at the royal college of San Pietro a Maiella at the age of eleven. As a young adult, he moved to Rome where he met Sgambati, the pianist and composer, who became his patron. Sgambati arranged for Tosti to give a concert at the Sala Dante at which the Princess Margherita of Savoy (who later became Queen of Italy) was present. She was so impressed with his performance that she appointed him her singing professor. She later appointed him curator of the Musical Archives of Italy at the Court. In 1875 Tosti traveled to England, where he made several powerful friends who introduced him to the highest levels of English society. Tosti was a staple in fashionable drawing rooms and salons, and he became singing master to the royal family after a short time. His fame as a composer of songs grew rapidly while he was in England. One of his compositions, which has since become known as "Tosti's Farewell," became a favorite overnight, and there was an enormous demand for his compositions. By 1885 he was the most popular composer of songs in England. He was naturalized in 1906, and knighted in 1908, finally returning to Italy, where he spent his final four years. He died in Rome on December 2, 1916, as one of Europe's most accomplished late 19th Century composers.