Both Gaetano Donizetti and Luigi Cherubini were regarded as Beethovens greatest contemporaries?
Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (] ; 29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, Donizetti was a leading composer of the "bel canto" opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century. Donizetti's close association with the bel canto style was undoubtedly an influence on other composers such as Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901).
Gaetano Emanuel Calì Gaetano Emanuel Calì (Catania, 1885 - Syracuse, 1936) was an Italian composer, orchestra conductor, and bandleader. He was student of Francesco Paolo Frontini, under whom he began to study classical instead of popular music.