Major Italian Violinists
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Baroque composer and violinist. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of sonata and concerto, in establishing the preeminence of the violin, and as the first coalescing of modern tonality and functional harmony. He is remembered for inventing the sonata, for transforming the violin from an ensemble instrument to a solo instrument, and for popularizing and developing the concerto grosso. Widely regarded as the greatest violinist prior to Vivaldi. His pupils included Francesco Geminiani, Pietro Locatelli, Pietro Castrucci, Francesco Gasparini, Giovanni Battista Somis, Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Michele Mascitti and Giovanni Stefano Carbonelli.
Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709)
Baroque composer, violinist and violist. He is most remembered for contributing to the development of the instrumental concerto, especially the concerto grosso and the solo concerto, as well as for being the most prolific Baroque composer for trumpets. His brother Felice Torelli was a noted painter.
Tomaso Antonio Vitali (1663-1745)
Italian composer and violinist. He is mainly remembered for his Chaconne in G minor for violin and continuo. The piece was so innovative and ahead of its time that it has caused some modern musicologists to speculate that it may have been composed by another composer during the Romantic era. However, the authenticity of Vitali's work is beyond question and is preserved in an 18th century manuscript.
Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751)
Baroque composer and violinist. Although famous in his day as an opera composer, today he is mainly remembered for his instrumental music. His Adagio in G minor (partially reconstructed by Remo Giazotto) is one of the most frequently recorded pieces of Baroque music. He is also credited with being the first Italian to compose oboe concerti. The oboe concerti in his Op. 7 were the first of their kind to be published. Much of his work was lost during the latter years of World War II with the Allied bombing of the Saxon State Library in Dresden, where his manuscripts were stored.
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Baroque composer, violinist and Catholic priest. Recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers. He also has the distinction of being one of the greatest violinist of all time—second only to Niccolò Paganini. He composed many instrumental concerti for the violin and other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concerti known as the Four Seasons.
Francesco Manfredini (1684-1762)
Baroque composer, violinist and church musician. He was a leading figure in the development of the concerto grosso. Much of his music was destroyed after his death; only 43 published works and a handful of manuscripts are known.
Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762)
Italian composer, violinist and music theorist. Geminiani was a violinist of the highest order, known for his harmony and expressive rhythms. His significance today is largely due to his 1751 treatise “The Art of Playing on the Violin”, which is the best known summation of the 18th century Italian method of violin playing and is an invaluable source for the study of late Baroque performance practice.
Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1768)
Italian composer and violinist. One of the great violinists of the early 18th century, he was famed throughout Europe for his performances as well as his innovative compositions. He was Handel's greatest rival as an opera composer and strongly denounced Handel for plagiarizing his works. He is best known for his violin sonatas. The asteroid 10875 Veracini was named after him.
Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770)
Baroque composer, violinist and music theorist. He was the first known owner of a violin made by the famed luthier Antonio Stradivari. Tartini's violin school, established in 1726, attracted students from all over Europe. He is credited with the discovery of sum and difference tones (combination tone). His most famous work is the “Devil's Trill Sonata”, which remains one of the most difficult pieces to play on the violin.
Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695-1764)
Italian composer and violinist. Locatelli was a master of violin technique. It is said that he never played a wrong note, except once when his finger accidentally slipped. He was the first great violinist who practiced virtuosity, earning him the title “Father of modern instrumental virtuosity”. He is best known for his “L'arte del violino”, a collection of 12 violin concerti and 24 caprices. This work had an immense influence on the development of violin technique, especially in France, and strongly influenced Paganini.
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)
Italian composer, violinist and organist. Although he initially earned a high reputation as a violinist, most of his compositions are not for the violin. His works have appeared in several films. His best-known works include his Stabat Mater and the opera “La serva padrona”, which was one of the most celebrated stage works of the 18th century.
Pietro Nardini (1722-1793)
Italian composer and violinist who worked in both the Baroque and Classical era traditions. The most famous pupil of Giuseppe Tartini. His works are known for their melodious tunes and are valued today as technical studies. Leopold Mozart, the father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, said of Nardini: “The beauty, purity and equality of his tone, and the tastefulness of his cantabile playing, cannot be surpassed.” Among his best known works are Sonata in D major and Concerto in E minor.
Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824)
Italian composer and violinist. Famed for his virtuosity and lyrical tunefulness. Considered the greatest violinist of his time. His most notable compositions are his 29 violin concerti, which were an influence on Ludwig van Beethoven. His Concerto No. 22 in A minor is still performed very frequently. The incipit of his “Tema e variazioni”, composed in 1781, was later plagiarized by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, who included the incipit in “La Marseillaise”—the national anthem of France since 1795—without crediting Viotti.
Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Italian violinist, violist, guitarist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. Universally recognized as the greatest violinist of all time. His 24 caprices for violin, especially his Caprice No. 24, are among the best known of his compositions and have served as an inspiration for many prominent composers.
Antonio Bazzini (1818-1897)
Italian violinist and composer. As a composer his most enduring work is his chamber music which earned him a central place in the Italian instrumental renaissance of the 19th century. However his success as a composer was overshadowed by his reputation as one of the finest concert violinists of the nineteenth century. His most notable work is the Dies Irae portion of Messa per Rossini.
Salvatore Accardo (b. 1941)
Italian violinist and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest Italian violinists of the 20th century and one of the greatest living violinists. He is best known for his interpretations of the works of Niccolò Paganini, and is widely regarded as the greatest interpreter of Paganini.
Uto Ughi (b. 1944)
Italian violinist and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest Italian violinists of the 20th century and one of the greatest living violinists. He is the founder of several music festivals, instituted the musical prize “Una vita per la Musica” (“A life for Music”), and has won numerous awards.
Minor Italian Violinists
Andrea Gabrieli (c. 1533-1585)
Italian composer and organist. Although not remembered as a violinist, Gabrieli composed the world's first violin composition, published after his death by his nephew Giovanni Gabrieli in 1587.
Biagio Marini (1594-1663)
Italian violinist and composer. One of the earliest professional violinists. He contributed to the early development of the string idiom, of the baroque solo and trio sonata idioms, and introduced the first explicitly notated tremolo effects into his music. He was also among the first composers, after Marco Uccellini, to call for scordatura tunings. Most of his works have been lost.
Carlo Ambrogio Lonati (c. 1645-1712)
Italian composer, violinist and singer. One of the most virtuoso violinists of his century. His violin works reveal a bold fluent style.
Giovanni Battista Bassani (c. 1647-1716)
Italian composer, violinist and organist. Bassani was a celebrated violinist in his own time. His trio sonatas are his best-known and most-commonly performed pieces in modern times.
Nicola Matteis (1650-1713)
Italian composer and violinist. He was the first notable Italian Baroque violinist in London. Together with other Italian violinists, he established an Italian school of violin in England which greatly influenced English musicians, especially Henry Purcell. He was compared to Arcangelo Corelli in his own lifetime, but his works were mostly forgotten until the 20th century.
Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco 1675-1742)
Italian composer, violinist and cellist. He is said to have perfected the Baroque sonata and concerto.
Antonio Montanari (1676-1737)
Italian violinist and composer. His concerti rank amongst the most impressive achievements in the history of Italian violin music
Pietro Castrucci (1679-1752)
Italian violinist and composer. Known as one of the finest virtuoso violinists of his generation. He invented the violetta marina, which was a variation of the viola d'amore.
Giuseppe Valentini (1681-1753)
Italian violinist, painter, poet and composer. Known chiefly as a composer of inventive instrumental music. Although overshadowed during his lifetime by Corelli, Vivaldi and Locatelli, his contribution to Italian baroque music is noteworthy. His works were published throughout Europe.
Giovanni Battista Somis (1686-1763)
Italian violinist and composer. Founder of the Piedmontese school of violin. His brilliant and emotional style influenced the development of violin playing. He composed over 150 concerti. His pupils included Felice Giardini, Gaetano Pugnani, Giovanni Battista Viotti, Jean-Marie Leclair, Louis-Gabriel Guillemain and Chabran.
Felice Giardini (1716-1796)
Italian composer and violinist. In the mid 1750's and 1760's he was widely regarded as the greatest musical performing artist.
Antonio Lolli (c. 1725-1802)
Italian violinist and composer. One of the foremost Italian violinists of the 18th century.
Michele Stratico (1728-1783)
Italian composer and violinist. He wrote no less than 283 instrumental works, including more than 170 sonatas for violin and bass, which stand at a turning point between late Baroque and early Classicism.
Gaetano Pugnani (1731-1798)
Italian composer and violinist. During his lifetime he was one of the most important violinists in Europe. His most famous pupil was Giovanni Battista Viotti. In the 20th century the composer Fritz Kreisler used Pugnani's name to publish his own works.
Maddalena Laura Sirmen (1745-1818)
Italian composer, violinist and singer. During her lifetime she was considered one of the finest and most famous violinists and composers ever produced by the Venetian Ospedali Grandi. Remembered as a dynamic inventor and brilliant performer in 18th century classical music.
Giuseppe Cambini (1746-1825)
Italian composer and violinist. Although best remembered as a symphonic composer, he wrote more than 100 string quartets.
Federigo Fiorillo (1755-1823)
Italian composer, violinist and mandolinist. He is best remembered for his 36 caprices for violin.
Alessandro Rolla (1757-1841)
Italian composer, violinist, violist and conductor. He was important in the development of violin and viola technique. He is best remembered as the teacher of Niccolò Paganini. Many of Rolla's technical innovations were later utilized by Paganini, including the left-hand pizzicato, chromatic ascending and descending scales, the use of very high positions on violin and viola, and octave passages.
Luigi Tomasini (1779-1858)
Italian composer and violinist. Mostly remembered as the leader of Prince Esterházy's court orchestra, which was directed by Joseph Haydn.
Giovanni Ricordi (1785-1853)
Italian violinist. Best remembered as the founder of the classical music publishing company Casa Ricordi. It was the largest music publisher in southern Europe and its archive is still today one of the most important sources of classical music in the world. Casa Ricordi published works by Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini.
Milanollo Sisters (1827-1904; 1832-1848)
Italian violinists. As child prodigies they toured Europe extensively in the 19th century. Remembered as the first women to achieve enduring fame as violinists.
Leandro Campanari (1859-1939)
Italian violinist, conductor and composer. Founder of the Campanari String Quartet. He worked with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati College of Music, Imperial Institute of London, Hammerstein's Opera Company, Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and California Conservatory of Music.
Pina Carmirelli (1914-1993)
Italian violinist and musicologist. She had a long concert career both as a soloist and in chamber groups, including the Boccherini Quintet, Carmirelli Quartet and Quintetto Fauré.
Carlotta Nobile (1988-2013)
Italian violinist, art historian, artistic director, writer and blogger. She was among the most popular young Italian violinists of her time. She is remembered both as a violinist and for her deep religious faith in the face of her premature death at age 24.
Italian violinist and musicologist. She had a long concert career both as a soloist and in chamber groups, including the Boccherini Quintet, Carmirelli Quartet and Quintetto Fauré.
Carlotta Nobile (1988-2013)
Italian violinist, art historian, artistic director, writer and blogger. She was among the most popular young Italian violinists of her time. She is remembered both as a violinist and for her deep religious faith in the face of her premature death at age 24.
