Rolla: Duets for 2 Violins

Featuring

Qian Zhou
Vilmos Szabadi
Alessandro Rolla

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Composer Biography

Rolla conducted several Mozart operas and as many as 18 operas by Rossini, the most loved composer of his age, at La Scala in Milan.

Compositional Technique

Many technical feats admired in Paganini's works, such as playing in high registers, double stops, and left-hand pizzicato, were already present in Rolla's compositions.

Composer Biography

Alessandro Rolla, born 15 months after Mozart, survived Beethoven by 14 years, indicating a long and active career spanning significant musical periods.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Rolla's virtuoso playing established the solo status of the viola, and his viola pieces are considered the first valuable compositions in the instrument's solo literature.

Compositional Technique

Rolla's duets for dilettantes often feature the first violin playing the melody in higher registers, with the second violin's thematic material often taken over by the first an octave higher.

Composer Biography

Rolla, a virtuoso instrumentalist, composer, and teacher, was commissioned by Paganini's father to teach his son, though he only gave lessons for a few months.

Performer Biography

Vilmos Szabadi, a Hungarian violinist, was invited by Sir Georg Solti to play Bartók's 2nd Violin Concerto at the Royal Festival Hall in London in 1988.