Locatelli settled in Amsterdam in 1729 and remained there for the rest of his life, leading a busy life teaching, directing an amateur orchestra, and dealing in instruments and strings.
Composition History
Locatelli's first publication, the twelve Concerti Grossi a 4 e a 5 con 12 fughe of 1721, was published in Holland, following Corelli and Vivaldi, because music publishing was at a low ebb in Italy at the time.
Critical Reception
Despite its success in revised editions and republication, Locatelli's Op 1 made little impact on 18th-century England, with critics like Charles Burney finding his music to "excite more surprise than pleasure."
Composer Biography
Pietro Antonio Locatelli, born in Bergamo in 1695, was a child prodigy, employed at Santa Maria Maggiore, the main church in Bergamo, in his mid-teens.
Historical Context
Italian composers flocked to Amsterdam to publish their works because Estienne Roger overcame the problem of archaic typesetting by engraving music from copper plates in the 1690s.
Compositional Technique
Locatelli followed Roman practice by printing the concertos with four violin and two bass part-books, allowing for the traditional division between a concertino and a ripieno.
Compositional Technique
Locatelli's Op 1 concertos largely conform to the styles and forms of the concerto grosso genre established by Corelli and other Roman composers.
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