Federico Sarti was an Italian violinist and music teacher, born in Cento on October 27, 1858. He studied first with his father, Leone Sarti, and then with Carlo Verardi in Bologna.
From 1877, Sarti played second violin in Verardi’s string quartet. After Verardi’s death, he became the quartet’s first violinist. Known as the Bologna Quartet, the ensemble won wide recognition as Italy’s leading string quartet. Francesco Serato joined on cello in 1881; its regular members also included second violinist Adolfo Massarenti and violist Angelo Consolini.
The quartet performed works by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schumann, as well as music by contemporary Italian composers Antonio Bazzini and Giovanni Sgambati. Its work was closely linked to the Bologna Music Lyceum, where all its members taught. Sarti’s students included Arrigo Serato, the son of his quartet colleague. From 1883 to 1895, Sarti also played in a piano trio with the elder Francesco Serato and Gustavo Tofano.
Another of Sarti’s students was the composer Ottorino Respighi. Sarti gave the first performance of Respighi’s Violin Sonata, written in 1917, on March 3, 1918, with the composer. Sarti died in Bologna on October 12, 1921.