Francesco Pontillo

Francesco Pontillo (1827-1890) was an Italian clarinettist and composer associated with the Neapolitan school. A pupil of Ferdinando Sebastiani, he succeeded his teacher at the Naples Conservatory and served as principal clarinet at the Teatro di San Carlo. His operatic fantasies reflect the nineteenth-century tradition of combining vocal lyricism with instrumental virtuosity. His Fantasia on themes from Donizetti’s Poliuto was performed at the Teatro del Fondo in Naples in 1862.