Virtuoso Baroque Music

Released (1996)

This recording is dedicated to the virtuoso instrumental music of the Italian Settecento. The string instruments and especially the violin had its most glorious period at that time with the ‘lutherie’ of Amati, Guarneri and Stradivarius, who made instruments of unsurpassed beauty.

The violin school of Corelli produced great virtuosos and influenced most of his pupils and followers like Vivaldi, Manfredini and Tartini who contributed to the violin repertoire of that period.

Pietro Antonio Locatelli is the least known among them. A pupil of Corelli in Rome, he travelled widely and spent a good part of his life in Amsterdam. There he formed a string orchestra with his pupils and performed much of his music.

His incredibly difficult works greatly enriched the violin technique to the point that he is considered today the predecessor of Paganini.

This album contains the first recording of L’arte del Violino by Locatelli since 1952 as well as 3 world premier recordings of Cadenzas written by Maestro Alberto Lysy.

Performing on this album is the world famous Camerata Lysy, an ensemble of virtuoso string players from around the world representing the performing wing of the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland. Comprised of outstanding instrumentalists, they are regarded as one of the finest chamber orchestras of today. The featured soloists are the world famous, Argentine violinist, Alberto Lysy and his old pupil Sophia Reuter of Dresden, Germany. Both soloists are playing on legendary vintage instruments over 500 years old combined, the rich musical heritage can be felt in these recordings.

This album unfolds beautifully and is a perfect representation of the Italian Settecento. An outstanding album from one of Europe's most distinguished chamber orchestras.