| Giovanni Battista Viotti |
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Information AboutGiovanni Battista Viotti |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GIOVANNI BATTISTA VIOTTI | |
| 1755 births | |
| 1824 deaths | |
| italian composers | |
| italian violinists | |
| people from the province of vercelli | |
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BIOGRAPHY Viotti was born in Valzaretto (current Province Of Vercelli ), the part of Kingdom Of Sardinia . He was a pupil of Gaetano Pugnani . He served at the court in Turin and toured as a soloist, at first with Pugnani before going to Paris alone. He was particularly popular there, and served for a time at Versailles before founding a new opera house, the ''Théâtre de Monsieur'' in 1788. When the French Revolution made the production of new opera impossible, he moved to London . He later returned to Paris, but gave up giving concerts to run a Wine business. This failed however, and he worked as director of the Paris Opera from 1819 to 1821. He died in London. Viotti was a very influential violinist. The teacher of both Pierre Rode and Pierre Baillot and an important influence on Rodolphe Kreutzer , all of whom became notable teachers themselves, he is considered the founding father of the 19th century French violin school. He also taught August Duranowski , who was an influence on Niccolò Paganini . Viotti owned a Stradivarius violin that would eventually become known as the Viotti Strad . It is rumored that Viotti received the violin as a love token from Catherine The Great . He is also thought to have commissioned the construction of at least one fake copy of this violin. The 'Viotti ex-Bruce', renamed in honour of its previous owner, was purchased by the Royal Academy Of Music in September 2005. Funding was provided by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax , the National Art Collections Fund , the National Heritage Memorial Fund and many private donors. The instrument will be displayed in the York Gate Collections, the Academy's free museum and research centre. The 'Viotti ex-Bruce' will be heard as well as seen: the instrument will be played sparingly, under very controlled circumstances, at research events and occasional performances elsewhere. Viotti's most notable compositions are his 29 s largely ignore the balanced texture pioneered by Haydn , giving a "solo" role to the first violin. Viotti often wrote chamber music for more traditional combinations such as two violins and bass. He also wrote Sonatas , Song s, and other works. |
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