Isabelle Faust & Il Giardino Armonico Presented by Liszt Academy

It is almost certain that the vast majority of music aficionados would call Paganini the most famous violinist of all time. Far fewer people are aware of the masters who paved the way for the ‘devil’s violinist’, and without whom his art would never have been born. Among these predecessors, the little-known but hugely influential Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695‒1764) wrote the opus 3 L’arte del violino series made up of 12 violin concertos, which raised virtuosity to new heights: these works are interspersed with astounding highs, double stops and string harmonics. On top of this, for solo violinists Locatelli composed different capriccios in the first and last movements of every work as cadences. (This effect is clearly evident in Paganini’s 24 Caprices.) During this recital the audience has the chance to get acquainted with three pieces from this highly influential series and three concerto grossos by the same composer, as interpreted by Il Giardino Armonico, who have enjoyed unbroken popularity for decades, together with the versatile violinist Isabelle Faust.