Travelling with virtuosos
Virtuoso concertos by Locatelli
Locatelli–Hasse
Ilya Gringolts, violin
Finnish Baroque Orchestra
lya Gringolts returns as the Finnish Baroque Orchestra’s soloist with a programme that puts violin virtuoso and composer Pietro Locatelli, who has been named Paganini of the 18th century, in the spotlight. Locatelli was born in Bergamo, he studied in Rome and he spent his youth touring the courts of Central Europe with his violin, before he settled in Amsterdam when he turned thirty. The city was one of Europe’s seething music centres in the heart of the note publishing business, and in 1733, Locatelli published his violin concertos L’arte del violino, The art of the violin, which he had composed during his travelling years. With this concerto collection, Locatelli redefined the violin and created a grammar of virtuosity, which demarcated the development of Romantic heroic violinism. The virtuosity shows in the two concertos chosen for this concert, requiring extreme technical agility from the soloist.
The L’arte del violino concerto compilation applied the three-part solo concerto model developed by Vivaldi in the early 18th century, which had become a Baroque hit. During Locatelli’s time, in the mid-18th century, several styles were trending in Europe. A new movement had risen to challenge the Italian Baroque: gently singing and indulging in passionate melodies, the gallant style draw inspiration from the extremely popular Italian opera. The grand old man of opera seria in the mid-18th century was Johann Adolf Hasse, who worked in Dresden and Northern Italy. His operas were among the most beloved of the era, and he also composed plenty of instrumental music.
In connection to this concert project, the orchestra records music by Locatelli for the record company BIS.
Duration: 1 h (no intermission)