Known in his own day for choral works, as well, Renaissance composer Annibale Padovano is most remembered today as a pioneer of the toccata keyboard genre. He was a key figure in the development of the Venetian style of the late Renaissance, later working at the Habsburg court in Graz, Austria. Padovano was born in 1527 (the name Padovano means "from Padua," or Padova in Italian). His father was a carpenter. Not much is known about his early life, but he had obviously mastered the organ by his mid-twenties; in 1552, he filled in on short notice for an aging and ailing organist at St. Mark's Cathedral. The next day, he impressed the longtime music director, composer Adrian Willaert, at an audition and was hired on the spot as organist. A second organist, Claudio Merulo, was added later, and the combination was an important step in developing the characteristic sound of music at St. Mark's, with different groups of singers and instrumentalists resounding from different parts of the giant structure. Padovano's tenure in Venice was not always a happy one; he was suspended for six months at one point, possibly because he had taken a paid appearance elsewhere and sent a student to perform at the cathedral in his place. However, he became a figure whose fame extended beyond Venice and Italy. In 1566, Padovano moved to Graz, perhaps largely for financial reasons; Archduke Karl at the imperial court there favored Italian music over that of northern European composers, and Padovano became one of the earlier Italian composers to find favor abroad. His keyboard compositions were innovative and widely followed, both in the contrapuntal ricercar genre (an important ancestor of the fugue) and in the quasi-improvisatory toccata. Padovano also wrote vocal music, including a book of masses, one of motets, and Italian madrigals. For the wedding of Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria to Renée (or Renata) of Lorraine, he composed an impressive 24-part mass and instrumental music, including a large battle piece that has been recorded by conductor Jordi Savall and his Hespèrion XX instrumental ensemble. As of the mid-2020s, more than 20 of Padovano's works had been recorded, including a pair of masses on a 2024 recording by the vocal group Cinquecento. ~ James Manheim, Rovi