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27-691: Viotti was born at Fontanetto Po in the Kingdom of Sardinia (today in the province of Vercelli , Piedmont , Italy). For his musical talent, he was taken into the household of principe Alfonso dal Pozzo della Cisterna in Turin , where he received a musical education that prepared him to be a pupil of Gaetano Pugnani . He served at the Savoia court in Turin, 1773–80, then toured as a soloist, at first with Pugnani, before going to Paris alone, where he made his début at

54-890: A naturalised British citizen, after his friend, the Duke of Cambridge, a younger brother of the Prince of Wales, had interceded on his behalf. In 1813, he was one of the founders of the Philharmonic Society of London . Viotti didn't perform as a soloist anymore but as orchestra leader and chamber musician. After his wine business failed, he returned to Paris to work as director of the Académie Royale de Musique , from 1819 to 1821. He returned to London in November 1823 together with Margaret Chinnery and died in her presence on 3 March 1824. In spite of his few direct pupils, Viotti

81-583: A profession, soon appearing in public with a concerto by Viotti. This performance established his reputation, and he was offered a professorship of violin playing at the Conservatoire, then recently opened. His next appointment was to the private band of Napoleon , after which he travelled for three years in Russia with the violoncello player Lemare. Returning to Paris , he established concerts for chamber music, which proved successful, and built up for him

108-475: A radical turn and, though his opera house was renamed the Théâtre Feydeau, former royal connections became a dangerous liability, he moved in 1792 to London, making his début at Johann Peter Salomon 's Hanover Square Concert, 7 February 1793. In London he went from success to success, as a featured violinist for Salomon's concert series, 1793–1794; as musical director of the new Opera Concerts in 1795; as

135-666: A reputation as a quartet player. He frequently performed together with the Polish pianist and composer Maria Agata Szymanowska . Baillot travelled again, visiting the Netherlands , Belgium , and England, and then he became leader of the opera band in Paris and of the royal band. In March 1825, while serving as concertmaster of the Paris Opéra, Baillot and Luigi Cherubini evaluated Felix Mendelssohn 's application for admission to

162-553: A star in the benefit concerts for Haydn , 1794 and 1795; as acting manager of Italian opera at the King's Theatre , 1794–1795; and as leader and director of the orchestra, 1797. He was invited to perform in the houses of the London bon ton , including for the Prince of Wales. Then, with Britain at war with Revolutionary France, he was ordered to leave the country, under suspicion of Jacobin sympathies. Period papers hint at an intrigue in

189-443: Is still very frequently performed, especially by advanced student players. The other concertos are of similar quality but lesser known. Other notable concertos include: No. 23 in G major (1792). During the 1990-2000 decade, Guido Rimonda found three more concertos. However, these discoveries – that can be regarded as concertos No. 30, 31 and 32 - are incomplete, since only two movements were found for each concerto. Most likely they are

216-803: The Viotti Stradivarius . He is also thought to have commissioned the construction of at least one replica 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 , and by the National Art Collections Fund , the National Heritage Memorial Fund and many private donors. The instrument

243-595: The Concert Spirituel , 17 March 1782. He was an instant sensation and served for a time at Versailles before founding a new opera house, the Théâtre de Monsieur in 1788, under the patronage of Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, comte de Provence , the king's brother, whose court title was Monsieur. There he mounted operas of his friend Luigi Cherubini , among lesser lights. When the French Revolution took

270-621: The 13-year-old virtuoso Friedrich Wilhelm Pixis . After that, according to two papers issued in February 1800, he seems to have lived incognito on the estate of his English friends, William and Margaret Chinnery , at Gillwell House, where he lived officially from 1801; according to another paper he was still in Schenefeld in April 1800. He gave up giving concerts to run a wine business, but used to play in private concerts. In July 1811, he became

297-667: The French hymn La Marseillaise . This incipit was first thought to have been published before La Marseillaise, but it appeared to be a misconception as Viotti published several variations of "La Marseillaise" in 1795 and wrote as a note "I have never composed the quartets below" ( Je n'ai jamais composé les quatuors ci dessous ). Viotti is commemorated annually in the Viotti International Music Competition near his birthplace in Vercelli , Italy. In

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324-617: The Paris Conservatory by playing his Quartet for Piano and Strings in B minor. Mendelssohn was only 16 years old. An anecdote mentioned that, overcome with emotion, Baillot approached the young composer after the performance and, without uttering a word, simply embraced him. Baillot made a final tour in Switzerland in 1833, and died in Paris in 1842. Baillot is considered to have been the last distinguished representative of

351-399: The age of twelve he lost his father, who had kept a school, and became dependent upon friends for his education. His musical talent was remarkable at an early age, and he received his first instruction from an Italian named Polidori. At the age of nine, he was placed under a French teacher named Sainte-Marie, whose training gave him the severe state and methodical qualities by which his playing

378-589: The favour of Viotti's rival, Wilhelm Cramer , who had led the Opera House orchestra before Viotti took over. The Morning Post and Gazetteer in its issue of Friday, 9 March 1798, reported that "the Duke of L... and the Earl of C... have been particularly active in entreating his Majesty to order Viotti out of the kingdom". This may refer to Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds , and to Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield . Pierre Rode , Viotti's favourite pupil,

405-455: The first violin. Viotti often wrote chamber music for more traditional combinations such as two violins and cello. The Opp. 18 and 19 are perhaps the best known of these and are still in print today. He also wrote sonatas , songs , and other works. The Italian violinist Guido Rimonda has pointed out in 2013 that the incipit of his "Tema e variazioni in Do maggiore" has a very strong resemblance to

432-529: The following municipalities: Crescentino , Gabiano , Livorno Ferraris , Moncestino , Palazzolo Vercellese , and Trino . This article on a location in the Province of Vercelli is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pierre Baillot Pierre Marie François de Sales Baillot (1 October 1771 – 15 September 1842) was a French violinist and composer born in Passy . He studied

459-448: The great classical school of violin playing in Paris. In his L'Art du Violon he points out the chief distinction between the old and the modern style of violin playing to be the absence of the dramatic element in the former, and its predominance in the latter, thus enabling the executive art to follow the progress marked out by the composer, and to bring out the powerful contrasts and enlarged ideas of more modern musical compositions. After

486-633: The meantime, in 2021, Guido Rimonda started the first publishing of Viotti's complete scores of violin concertos for Edizioni Curci Milan . Viotti's music generally features the violin prominently. Most of his string quartets largely ignore the balanced texture pioneered by Haydn , giving a "solo" role to the first violin and as such may be considered Quatuors brillants . However, his Tre Quartetti Concertanti , G.112, 113 and 114 (after Remo Giazotto who catalogued Viotti's works), composed in 1815 and published in Paris in 1817, are true concertante works offering extensive solos for each instrument and not just

513-521: The path of his profession, and for five years he travelled with his benefactor, acting as private secretary. In 1791, he returned to Paris, and Viotti secured a place for him in the opera orchestra. But on being offered a position in the Ministère des Finances, he gave up his operatic work, and for some years devoted only his leisure to the study of the violin. He served in the army for twenty months, after which he once more determined to take up music as

540-554: The same city takes place also the Viotti Festival - International Music Festival - an event that is part of the circuit "Piemonte dal Vivo" Italy. Fontanetto Po Fontanetto Po is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont , located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Turin and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Vercelli . Fontanetto Po borders

567-453: The unpublished concertos mentioned by Viotti himself in his will left in favour of Mrs. Chinnery who cared for him in London, in the last years of his life. In 2005, violinist Franco Mezzena released a complete set on the Dynamic label. Since 2012 Guido Rimonda started releasing Viotti's 32 concertos for Decca Universal Group label . This project will be completed by the end of 2023. In

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594-496: The violin under Giovanni Battista Viotti and taught at the Conservatoire de Paris together with Pierre Rode (also a pupil of Viotti) and Rodolphe Kreutzer , who wrote the Conservatoire's official violin method (published in the early 19th century). He was sole author of the instructional L'Art du violon (1834). Baillot's teachings had a profound influence on technical and musical development in an age in which virtuosity

621-468: 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 Paul Alday and August Duranowski , who was an influence on Niccolò Paganini . Viotti owned a violin fabricated by Antonio Stradivari in 1709 that would eventually become known as

648-409: Was distinguished. At the age of ten, he heard Viotti play one of his concertos, becoming his model. When his father died a year or two later, the intendant of Corsica, M. de Boucheporn , sent him, with his own children, to Rome , where he was placed with Pollani, a pupil of Nardini , under whom he made rapid progress, and soon began to play in public. He was, however, unable to follow directly in

675-525: Was expelled from England, too, and may have left the country some days previous to Viotti who awaited the outcome of his case, after several gentlemen and even Princess Elizabeth spoke in his favour. But finally, Viotti left England with a packet ship on 8 March 1798. He lived on the estate of a rich English merchant, John Smith, in Schenefeld (Pinneberg) near Hamburg from ca. March 1798 to ca. July 1799. Between March and May 1798 he gave private lessons to

702-495: Was openly encouraged. He was leader of the Paris Opéra , gave solo recitals and was a notable performer of chamber music . Pierre Baillot, who was associated with Rode and Kreutzer in the compilation of the celebrated Methode du Violon , was born at Passy , near Paris , and became one of the best violinists of his time. His eminence in his profession was not obtained without a long struggle against great difficulties, for at

729-524: Was to be displayed in the York Gate Collections, the academy's free museum and research centre. The Viotti ex-Bruce is to be heard as well as seen: the instrument is to be played sparingly, under very controlled circumstances, at research events and occasional performances elsewhere. Viotti's most notable compositions are his 29 violin concertos , which were an influence on Ludwig van Beethoven . One in particular, No. 22 in A minor (1792),

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