Matteo Carcassi (8 April 1796 – 16 January 1853) was an Italian guitarist and composer.Carcassi was born in Florence, Italy, and first studied the piano, but learned guitar when still a child. He quickly gained a reputation as a virtuoso concert guitarist.He moved to Germany in 1810, gaining almost immediate success. By 1815, he was living in Paris, earning his living as a teacher of both the piano and the guitar. On a concert tour in Germany in 1819, he met his friend Jean-Antoine Meissonnier for the first time. Also a well-known guitarist, Meissonnier published many of Carcassi's works in his Paris publishing house.