THE REVOLUTIONARY WORLD
OF J.B. VIOTTI
CHERUBINI – VIOTTI – MOZART
Elicia Silverstein, violino
Atalanta Fugiens
Vanni Moretto, conductor
Program
L. Cherubini: Ouverture to “Les Deux Journées” (1800)
(2 Fl., 2 Ob., 2 Cl., Fag., 2 Cor., 2. Trbn., Archi) 8’
G.B. Viotti: Violin Concerto n.22 in A minor (1793-97)
(Fl., 2 Ob., 2 Cl., 2 Fag., 2 Cor., 2 Tr., Tp., Archi) Moderato – Adagio – Agitato assai 28’
W.A. Mozart: Symphony n.41 in C Major, “Jupiter,” K. 551 (1788)
(Fl., 2 Ob., 2 Fag., 2 Cor., 2 Tr., Tp., Archi) Allegro vivace – Adante cantabile – Menuetto: Allegro – Molto allegro 30’
Hubert Robert – The Monuments of Paris, 1789
Atalanta Fugiens
The figure of Viotti is inextricably linked to the violin. Though he himself was a product of the great Italian violinistic tradition, which in his era already counted amongst its “giants,” the likes of Corelli, Vivaldi, Locatelli and Tartini, Viotti became known as the founder of the French (and later Franco-Belgian) violin school. In his compositions and his performances, he was able to unite the most virtuosic aspects of violin technique with a distinctive, specifically violinistic lyricism.
There are many contemporary accounts that highlight how the, “[enchanting] sweetness and perfections of his tone,” alongside a striking “degree of power and energy,” distinguished Viotti as a uniquely revered master of his art. Viotti earned the admiration and respect of the greatest musicians of his time, including Mozart who knew several of his compositions and even orchestrated one of his violin concerti (n.16 in E minor). Although his public performance career, cut short by the French revolution which caused him to flee France, lasted for fewer than ten years, his approach to sound production and expression and his original concept of musical form influenced an entire generation of violinist composers, such as Rode, Baillot, Kreutzer and Beriot, who codified his teachings in the Méthode de violon by Baillot, Rode and Kreutzer (1803) and in Baillot’s L’art du violon (1834), thus forming the so-called modern French violin school.
It was also thanks to Viotti, in collaboration with François Xavier Tourte, that the modern bow, still in use today, was brought to life. He enormously pushed the boundaries of violin technique, offering new and highly effective solutions that not only paved the way for the great violinistic repertoire of the nineteenth century but also became in large degree the legacy inherited by and further developed by Paganini.
Vanni Moretto
Orchestral conductor, composer and violone/double bass player Vanni Moretto is the Editorial Director of the series “Archivio della Sinfonia Milanese,” published by Casa Ricordi and is artistic director of the discographic series published by Sony of the same name.
As a bass player, Vanni has given concerts in the most important halls on all continents (including Carnegie Hall in New York, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Sydney Opera House, Berlin Philharmonie, Il Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Opéra de Paris, Colòn in Buenos Aires, Santa Cecilia in Rome, etc). He has recorded for prestigious record labels including Teldec, Decca and Amadeus.
Moretto has collaborated with Il Giardino Armonico, i Barocchisti, i Pomeriggi Musicali, Orchestra dell’Angelicum, Musica Rara, i Solisti Aquilani, Capella Teatina, Orchestra Litta, Musici di Santa Pelagia, Archi del Cherubino and the Orquestra Barroca de Sevilla. For the past fifteen years, he has been a regular guest of the Milano Classica orchestra, with whom he recorded three albums (for Dynamic for the magazine Le Stelle). In 2004, he founded L’Orchestra Classica Atalanta Fugiens, with whom he is realizing the project, “Archivio della Sinfonia Milanese,” with the aim of recording and publishing Milanese symphonic repertoire of the eighteenth century. The recordings are published by Sony and, thus far, seven volumes have been released. The scores, edited in collaboration with a research committee of the Università Statale di Milano, are published by Casa Ricordi. Moretto’s compositions, published by Ricordi, Sonzogno and Bèrben, have won numerous national and international competitions, including V. Bucchi, “Petrassi”, “Rocco Rodio”, and “Fiumara d’Arte,” and they have been performed by ensembles including l’Orchestra della RAI di Milano, L’Orchestra Sinfonica della Fenice di Venezia, l’Orchestra dell’Accademia Chigiana l’Ensemble Sonar Parlante di Vittorio Ghielmi, l’Orchestra Musica Rara e l’Orchestra Milano Classica. Specialized in composition for children, he is a consecutive two-time (1994, 1995) first-prize winner of the Composition Competition entitled, “Il bambino e il suo strumento,” run by Grugliasco. He also won second prize in the Composition Competition for children in Sàrmede (1994) and in the competition “J. Brahms” of the same year. He has recently devoted himself to the study of issues around historical tunings and temperaments and the historical performance practices of eighteenth-century Italian. He holds lessons and conferences at various academic institutions, including the Università di Milano and at the Collegio Ghislieri in Pavia.
Atalanta Fugiens
Other projects
Leipzig Metamorphosis
Elicia Silverstein, violin
Accademia dell’Annunciata
Riccardo Doni, harpsichord, chamber organ & conductor
In this program, Elicia Silverstein, Riccardo Doni and his Accademia dell’Annunciata offer the listener a window into a dialogue between the musical world of J.S. Bach and that of his Leipzig compatriot, the young Felix Mendelssohn, who, through his knowledge of the music of Bach is able to “remember the future,” as Luciano Berio later put it, forging a new musical language, informed, colored and perfumed by the past.
Harmonia Artificiosa
BIBER - BERIO - PANNI
Elicia Silverstein & Marco Bianchi, violins
Riccardo Doni, harpsichord & chamber organ
Created by Elicia Silverstein for the Ravenna Festival 2023, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber’s remarkable Harmonia artificiosa-ariosa for two violins in various scordatura tunings and basso continuo, six of Luciano Berio’s 32 Duetti for two violins, and seven new duets for two violins by Berio’s longtime friend and collaborator Marcello Panni, written on commission from Ravenna Festival for this project, make up this program’s fascinating mosaic of sounds past, present and future explored by Silverstein and her most extraordinary travel companions, violinist Marco Bianchi and harpsichordist/organist Riccardo Doni.
E se sei solo?
BACH SONATAS & PARTITAS
Elicia Silverstein, violin
BIBER MYSTERY SONATAS
Elicia Silverstein, violin
Riccardo Doni, harpsichord & organ
Silverstein and her esteemed musical collaborator, harpsichordist and organist Riccardo Doni, explore the highly spiritual world of Biber’s Mystery Sonatas (also known as the “Rosary Sonatas”), some of the most fascinating music ever composed for the violin. Rich with symbolism, each sonata depicts one of the fifteen Mysteries of the Cross described in the Catholic liturgical tradition. With unusual scordatura tunings and symbolically charged harmonic and rhythmic devices, Biber brings each Mystery of the Cross vividly to life. The fourteen different scordatura tunings help establish the unique character of each sonata by varying the tension on the violin and thereby eliciting from the instrument a distinctive resonance, color, and affect matched to the Mystery depicted. In order to equip themselves to recreate for both themselves and modern listeners the scenery, action, and emotions of each Mystery, Silverstein and Doni have delved deeply into the liturgical texts associated with each. Their aim is nothing less than the fully immersive meditative experience they believe Biber envisioned when he composed the sonatas in the seventeenth century.
The Dreams & Fables I Fashion
BIBER - SCIARRINO - MONTANARI - BERIO - BACH
Elicia Silverstein, violin