- Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824) received his musical education from Gaetano Pugnani. He served for a short time at the Savoy Court in Turin but soon he spread his wings and travelled to Paris, where he was an instant success as a supreme violin virtuoso. He served for a time at the court of Versailles before he founded an opera house in Paris (Théâtre de Monsieur). Due to his good relations with the French royal family and the aristocracy, he was forced to go abroad and he settled in London, where he featured in the Hanover Square concert series and was active as a concert organizer and impresario, as well as one of the founders of the Philharmonic Society of London.
- Viotti was an influential violin player and teacher. He composed 29 violin concertos. The music is in Early-Classical style. Based on the principles of the Viennese Classics it hints at more romantic feelings of times to come.
- As a companion to the Viotti violin concerto this recording presents a symphony by Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842), also an Italian who made his fame and career abroad, as Director of the Paris Conservatoire. Admired by Haydn and Beethoven Cherubini’s music is an example of the transition of the Classical into the Romantic style, a fusion of clear-cut forms and dramatic impetus.
- Brilliantly played by Italian violinist Massimo Quarta and the Nuova Orchestra Ferrucio Busoni conducted by Massimo Belli.
