Francesco Maria Veracini: Music at the Düsseldorf Court
3/19/2021, 18 Tracks, 1:06:06
Featuring
Mary Utiger
Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik
Francesco Maria Veracini
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Composition History
Veracini's Concerto a otto stromenti, featured on this album, was first performed in 1712 at festivities in Venice celebrating the coronation of Emperor Karl VI.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Veracini's later compositional style was marked by an eccentric development and a contempt for the homophonic style, which he equated with ignorance and lethargy.
Compositional Technique
In his Concerto a otto stromenti, Veracini deliberately left empty bars in the solo violin part, titled 'A capriccio del Primo Violino', to allow for virtuoso improvisations during performance.
Composer Biography
Francesco Maria Veracini married Clara Theising, a wealthy woman from Düsseldorf, in 1715, indicating his close ties to the city and its court.
Composer Biography
The composer Francesco Maria Veracini was considered so eccentric that Charles Burney, a prominent 18th-century music historian, compared him to a magician or heretic.
Composer Biography
During a shipwreck in the English Channel, Francesco Maria Veracini lost not only his manuscripts but also his two cherished Stainer violins, which he had named "St Peter" and "St Paul."
Composer Biography
Francesco Maria Veracini, born in Florence in 1690, was considered a "truly unique musician" and was taught by his uncle, Antonio Veracini, a violinist and composer.
