PROGRAM INFORMATION: Antonio Lolli left several collections of Sonatas for violin and basso continuo, starting with the Six Sonatas opus 1, first published in Amsterdam in 1766 and then reprinted several times. This collection was followed by the Six Sonatas opus 2, the Six Sonatas opus 3, printed in Amsterdam and Berlin, a second collection published in Paris again as opus 3 but containing different sonatas from the previous one, the Six Sonatas opus 5 (five of which, in reality, are lifted from opus 2) and lastly the Six Sonatas for two violins opus 9, which to the best of our knowledge close the sonata production of the composer from Bergamo. And it is with a composition from opus 9, the Sonata n. 2 in G major, that our CD opens: this is indeed a work that was not a chance choice, for its pre-Paganini character - in terms both of musical language and of pure instrumental technique - is clear at a first listening. The other compositions are taken from opus 1, from the Amsterdam/Berlin opus 3 and lastly from opus 5, so as to offer as exhaustive an image as possible of the various aspects of creativity and technique in Lolli’s production. Whilst the stylistic difference between the various sonatas in opuses 1/3/5 is scarcely relevant, we perceive very clearly the attempt to place the soloist’s virtuoso requirements in the foreground, with difficult, demanding writing which, as in the Concertos, has no qualms about taking on the high and very high ranges of the fingerboard, in a constant, assiduous search for new resources and new instrumental colours. Exemplary in this sense is the Minuetto con variazioni which closes the Sonata in A major opus 3 n. 5, with its second variation ”en sons harmoniques” wholly worthy of Paganini. Set against this continuous, overt desire to astonish with virtuosity, the more specifically cantabile, expressive aspects generally remain in the shade (unlike what is found in the works of Paganini): here again, however, there are some fine exceptions like the brief but intense Adagio in the Sonata in A major opus 1 n. 4, a page of great melodic effusion, or the Adagio in the Sonata in G major opus 3 n. 5, with its afflicted, melancholy accents.
BIO: Antonio Lolli We still know little about the biographical details of the violinist and composer Antonio Lolli, one of the most extraordinary itinerant virtuosi of the eighteenth century. Active from 1758 at the court of Stuttgart (where Pietro Nardini was a colleague from 1762 to 1765 became famous through his concert tours in Europe. From 1774 to 1783 he was in the service of the Empress Catherine II of Russia. In 1785 he performed in London, though with little success; then in 1794 he moved to Vienna, then to Naples and in 1796 he finally settled in Palermo, where he died in poverty having gambled away most of the fortune he had accumulated through his activity as a soloist. We know almost nothing about his musical education. Music historians tend to think that he was basically self-taught, a musician, that is to say, who like Nicolò Paganini, cannot be inserted into any specific school. In his Nuova Teoria di Musica ricavata dall’odierna pratica [New Music Theory based on present-day practice] of 1812, Gervasoni writes of him: ”Everyone who has heard him affirms that he has a prodigious hand and that he could perform certain difficulties that were impossible for others. No one before him had ever drawn from the violin those higher notes that he could achieve with such strength and precision. [...] He delighted then in performing in France, in England and in Spain and everywhere he won admiration and astonishment with the magic power of his enchanting skills.” Luca Fanfoni In February 2002 Luca Fanfoni made his debut at the Carnegie Hall in New York, where he appeared again in 2003 (opening concert of his United States tour). He won the first prize at the International Competition ”Romano Romanini” in Brescia, was a prize winner at the International Competition ”Giovanni Battista Viotti” in Vercelli and again at the ”Nicolò Paganini” competition in Genoa. He has performed in important concert halls all over the world, reaping unanimous critical and public acclaim, and today is considered one of the most outstanding violinists in Italy and Europe. In his recordings Luca Fanfoni works on rediscovering genuine masterpieces, such as L’Arte del Violino by Pietro Antonio Locatelli, for violin and strings (Dynamic CDS 394/1-3), in which he takes on the twin role of soloist and conductor with the chamber ensemble Reale Concerto. This recording was unanimously applauded by specialist critics both nationally and internationally (”With this complete edition of the Art of the Violin, Luca Fanfoni has achieved a tremendous feat...” Amadeus, April 2003). In May 2005 he gave a concert at the Quirinale (the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic) broadcast live by radio in 300 countries in the world as part of the Rai RadioTre concert series. Luca Fanfoni alternates his activity as a soloist with conducting.Again in the twin role of soloist and conductor, in 2007 in Cremona he presented the ten Violin Concertos by Antonio Lolli, which he recorded for Dynamic with the Reale Concerto chamber orchestra.
STRONG POINTS: WORLD PREMIERE Antonio Lolli: the major pre-Paganini virtuoso of the eighteenth century: extreme technique, stunning virtuosity, the quest for new instrumental sound effects. Opportunity to combine sale with: CDS 527 / CDS 394
Track List: Sonata i G Major for two violins & b. c. op. 9 no. 2* 1. Allegretto 05:42 2. Adagio 03:19 3. Rondo 02:50 Sonata in A Major for violin & b. c. op. 3 no. 6 4. Andantino 00:47 5. Divertimento 05:55 6. Adagio 03:36 7. Minuetto 09:07 Sonata in A Major for violin & b. c. op. 1 no. 4 8. Allegro 03:55 9. Adagio 01:55 10. Allegro assai 02:13 Sonata in C minor for violin & b. c. op. 5 no. 2 11. Andante 03:21 12. Adagio 02:45 13. Rondo 04:01 Sonata D Major for violin & b. c. op. 3 no. 4 14. Allegro 04:21 15. Andante 01:37 16. Presto 02:49 Sonata in G Major for violin & b. c. op. 3 no. 5 17. Allegro 08:35 18. Adagio 03:44 19. Minuetto con variazioni 06:40
Sonatas for violin and basso continuo
