Search - Elizabeth Wallfisch, Pietro Antonio Locatelli, Nicholas Kraemer :: Locatelli: L'Arte del Violino

Without a doubt, Locatelli's L'Arte del Violino ('The Art of the Violin'), printed in Amsterdam in 1733, was one of the most influential musical publications of the early eighteenth century. It is a collection of twelve concertos for solo violin, strings and basso continuo, with a 'capriccio' for unaccompanied violin inserted into the first and last movements of each concerto as a sort of cadenza. In L'Arte del Violino we encounter the virtuoso par excellence - the type of musician who concentrates on making the maximum impression, who wants to be seen and admired, the performer and his outstanding technical prowess being the centre of attention. The Fondazione Pietro Antonio Locatelli provided photocopies of recently discovered manuscript cadenzas, written in 1743 by the Mainz-based violinist Gottfried Dominicus Reber, for use on this recording. Violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch surmounts the challenges of these concertos with both style and fire.