Italian Violin Sonatas (2003)

This splendid disc features violin sonatas by Italian composers influenced by Arcangelo Corelli. Corelli, as Toussaint Loviko wrote in the liner notes, was "an iconic point of reference for his violinist peers." Indeed, but these composers, with the possible exception of Geminiani, wrote original music often significantly expanding the Baroque violin idiom. This is why it takes an extraordinarily versatile and sensitive violinist to convincingly perform, on one disc, music by Veracini, Locatelli, Michele Mascitti, Geminiani ... Read More

This splendid disc features violin sonatas by Italian composers influenced by Arcangelo Corelli. Corelli, as Toussaint Loviko wrote in the liner notes, was "an iconic point of reference for his violinist peers." Indeed, but these composers, with the possible exception of Geminiani, wrote original music often significantly expanding the Baroque violin idiom. This is why it takes an extraordinarily versatile and sensitive violinist to convincingly perform, on one disc, music by Veracini, Locatelli, Michele Mascitti, Geminiani, and Tartini, and Fabio Biondi certainly fulfills those requirements. While the general idiom is Baroque, each work presents particular technical and stylistic challenges. Overall, Biondi performs these sonatas with an exquisite lightness of touch, a lightness bordering on the ethereal without questioning the stylistic and formal foundations of the music. Significantly, Biondi's original interpretations never overshadow the music's originality. If there is an extraordinary lightness... Read Less