Gaetano François Marie Besozzi (born 25 March 1727 in Piacenza - 15 Nivôse XII - 6 January 1804 - in Versailles) was an Italian oboist and composer.[1] Son of Giuseppe Besozzi, brother of Antonio Besozzi and nephew of Alessandro Besozzi, he became an oboist in the court of Naples from 1740,[1] and from 1765 at the court of the King of France in Paris and Versailles.[1] Between 1768 and 1788 he played in the Concert Spirituel and the salons of Paris.[2] His performances were applauded by every audience and deemed in high esteem by musicologist Charles Burney.
In 1778 he received a pension from the French king. Before the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1793 he fled to London,[1] where he worked until his death. Besozzi emerged as a composer of chamber music works. His son Girolamo Besozzi, father of Henri Besozzi and grandfather of the composer Louis Désiré Besozzi, was also a musician.