Alessandro Marcello, né le 24 août 1669 à Venise et mort le 19 juin 1747 à Padoue est un italien, issu d'une famille de la noblesse vénitienne, qui fut à la fois un écrivain, un philosophe et un mathématicien de renom. Aujourd'hui, cependant, on le connaît surtout comme compositeur de musique, de même que son jeune frère Benedetto Marcello.
Il composa plusieurs recueils de concertos de soliste - parmi lesquels 6 furent rassemblés sous le titre de La Cetra - ainsi que quelques cantates. Il publia ses ?uvres sous le pseudonyme de Eterio Stinfalico. sous lequel il était connu à l'Accademia dell'Arcadia. Son ?uvre la plus connue est un concerto pour hautbois en ré mineur qui a été transcrit par Jean-Sébastien Bach en un concerto pour clavecin (BWV 974), parfois repris à l'orgue.
A slightly older contemporary of Antonio Vivaldi, Marcello held concerts at his hometown of Venice. He composed and published several sets of concertos, including six concertos under the title of La Cetra (The Lyre), as well as cantatas, arias, canzonets, and violin sonatas. Marcello often composed under the pseudonym Eterio Stinfalico, his name as a member of the celebrated Arcadian Academy (Pontificia Accademia degli Arcadi ). He died in Padua in 1747. Alessandro's brother was Benedetto Marcello, also a composer. Although his works are infrequently performed today, Marcello is regarded as a very competent composer. His La Cetra concertos are "unusual for their wind solo parts, concision and use of counterpoint within a broadly Vivaldian style," according to Grove, "placing them as a last outpost of the classic Venetian Baroque concerto."
A concerto Marcello wrote in D minor for oboe, strings and basso continuo is perhaps his best-known work. Its worth was attested to by Johann Sebastian Bach who transcribed it for harpsichord (BWV 974). A number of editions have been published of the famous Oboe Concerto in D minor. The edition in C minor is credited to Benedetto Marcello.
The Breitkopf & Hartel edition of the Oboe Concerto in D minor states that Alessandro Marcello was born in 1684 and died in 1750. However, the majority of other archives state 1669-1747.
