Alberto Zelman (senior)

{{Short description|Trieste-born Australian composer, music conductor, music teacher, organist and pianist}}

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File:Alberto Zelman.png

Alberto Zelman (1832{{spaced ndash}}28 December 1907) was a Trieste-born Australian composer, music conductor, music teacher, organist and pianist.The Age (30 December 1907). [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204989330?searchTerm=Zelman&searchLimits= "The Death of Signor Zelman"]

He was born at Trieste, Austria (now part of Italy), of Italian parents. He was educated as a musician and made his mark as a conductor in northern Italy. He then went to Calcutta, India, where he was successful for some years as a teacher and conductor, and about 1870 came to Australia as conductor of an opera company. He settled at Melbourne, was much esteemed as a man and as a musician, was for many years conductor of the Melbourne Liedertafel, and was a well-known piano teacher.

Zelman compositions included orchestral works, masses and many solos for the violin. He died at Melbourne in 1907 leaving a widow and four sons.Radic, Thérèse (1976). [http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/zelman-alberto-4910 "Zelman, Alberto (1832–1907)"]. Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 6. Online version retrieved 22 January 2016.

His son, also named Alberto Zelman, was also a musician and the founder of the Albert Street Conservatorium Orchestra{{Cite web|last=School of Historical Studies|first=Department of History|title=Melba Conservatorium of Music - Entry - eMelbourne - The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online|url=http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00922b.htm|access-date=2020-08-24|website=www.emelbourne.net.au|language=en-gb}} which, in 1927, combined with the Melbourne University Symphony Orchestra{{Cite web|last=Kennel|first=Emily|date=2020-08-13|title=Tools of the Trade|url=https://about.unimelb.edu.au/old-quad/multivocal/tools-of-the-trade|access-date=2020-08-24|website=Old Quad|language=en}} to form the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.Wireless Weekly magazine, 29 July 1927 edition Another son, Victor Zelman, was a painter and etcher.