Corelli and the Violin

Arcangelo Corelli, a young man in his twenties, went to Rome to seek employment as a violinist just over three hundred years ago. He stayed, and before he died almost forty years later in 1713, he had the reputation of being the famosissimo professore di violino.

He became known as the most eminent violinist in the seventeenth century, and he was sought after by professional musicians and aristocratic amateurs alike who wished for the experience of seeing and hearing him perform. Indeed, few musicians have gained so much admiration from their contemporaries, first on account of his prowess as a performer and teacher, and then increasingly as a composer.