http://www.camerataducale.it/

 http://www.viottifestival.it/

Il Violino italiano.

The Italian Virtuoso

 The history of the Italian school of violin in the XVIII and XIX centuries  revolves around Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), Giovan Battista Viotti (1775-1824)  and Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840). 

Tartini was a reference point around the first half of the 18^th century. A preserver of the ‘scuola barocca’ Tartini gave it new and virtuoso impulse. The virtuoso technique of his left hand, combined with the technical progress proposed for the bow made him popular in  18^th century Europe. He became the founder and most important representative of a violin school which churned out the best known musicians of the future generations. True ‘summa’ of his talent is “L’arte dell’arco”, a series of daring variations on a Gavotta by Arcangelo Corelli, which can be regarded as a transitional work from Baroque Aesthetics to  the rising Neo-Classical sensibility. 

 G.B. Viotti was the most important representative of 18^th century Piedmontese violin school, which descended from the more famous Roman school ideally led by Corelli. Thanks to his European tours with Gaetano Pugnani Viotti proved to be the most talented violinist of the last years of the XVIII century. His years in Paris left a permanent mark in the history of the violin. It was then that Viotti proposed to Tourte (a bow maker) a new type of bow which was to be appreciated by all future generations and which is still in use. The new bow -characterized by a concave curvature- enabled Viotti to charm his audience with new, unprecedented, astonishing virtuoso effects, which would have been unfeasible by using the old types of bows. The cantabile could be marked by a deeper transposition (“Meditazione in Preghiera”)(*) , whereas the virtuoso parts could be brighter (“Tema e variazioni”), which paved the way for the future virtuoso development of 19^th century violin technique.  

Niccolò Paganini  took  up Viotti’s legacy and developed his novelties in a transcendental way, inflaming audiences and musicians all over Europe. His wish to astonish led Paganini to experiment with new forms and solutions which were unconceivable  fifty years before. Simple and double harmonius artificiali  (“Le Streghe”), the use of scordatura, daring colpi d’arco and whole works to be performed on a single string (“Variazioni sul Mosè di Rossini”).

 

The Orchestra

camerata ducale 

and its  

            SOLOIST Ensemble 

 

 The SOLOIST Ensemble  of the Orchestra Camerata Ducale was born within the same Orchestra and is made up of some musicians who have been working with the Orchestra Camerata Ducale for some years both as soloists and as leading roles. All of them are interested in reviving   the great music of 18^th century Classicism.  The Orchestra Camerata Ducale was founded in 1992 thanks to Guido Rimonda and Cristina Canziani. It can be regarded as the crowning achievement of a long and patient historical and musical research on the years between the end of the XVIII century and the beginning of the XIX century, a research which focuses especially on the Piedmontese composer Giovan Battista Viotti. The Camerata Ducale was founded after the discovery of some important scores by G.B.Viotti: the time had come for a new interest in the composer and a revival of his music.  The name Camerata Ducale derives from the Cappella Ducale, an orchestra based in Turin in the 18^th century under the aegis of the Savoys. Among its members were the most important violinists in Italy, such as Giovan Battista Somis, Gaetano Pugnani and Viotti himself. In time the Orchestra Camerata Ducale and The Soloist Ensemble have achieved remarkable goals, such   as (starting from 1998)  the conceiving and organizational work of  the Viotti Festival – L’Arco Incantato.  The festival is based in Vercelli, in the north of Italy (in between Milan and Turin) because Vercelli is Giovan Battista Viotti’s native city. After 11 years of activity, career and concerts in Vercelli, the Orchestra Camerata Ducale has the privilege to cooperate with worldly famous artists  such as  Ruggiero Ricci, Salvatore Accardo, Uto Ughi, Shlomo Mintz, Vladimir Spivakov, Igor Oistrakh, the duo Igudesman&Joo, Bruno Canino, Louis Lortie, Mischa Maisky, Jian Wang, Daniela Dessì, Katia Ricciarelli and Luciana Serra. In recent years the Soloist Ensemble has had the opportunity to revive Viotti’s music and make it   popular with more and more people  thanks to important tours in South Africa (2005), Georgia (2007) and the USA (2009, Chicago).  Since 1996 the Orchestra Camerata Ducale and the Soloist Ensemble have been recording a large  number of CDs: their main goal is at present the recording of Viotti’s opera omnia, a monumental work which sounds as their most challenging task.The Orchestra Camerata Ducale have been recording for Naxos and Chandros Records since 2009.  Last, but not least, thanks to the invaluable support of Regione Piemonte and Vercelli City Council the Orchestra has recently inaugurated a new era of Viotti’s music, founding in Florida  (January 2009) an American division of the Italian Viotti Festival.   

(*) Go to the Orchestra's official website to listen to some music by Viotti