Veracini, Overture No. 6 in G minor Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1768) was born into a musical family in Florence, Italy. He forged a successful performing career as a violinist in Venice. From there he secured a position in Dresden from 1716 to 1723. Returning to … Read more
Scarlatti, Cantata Pastorale per la nascità di nostro Signore The Scarlatti family from Sicily included quite a few successful musicians. Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) was the second of eight children born to Pietro and Eleanora, five of whom had musical careers. Alessandro would sire ten children, … Read more
Giuseppe Sammartini, Concerto for Recorder and Strings Giuseppe Sammartini (1695 – 1750) could easily be confused with his younger brother Giovanni Battista Sammartini (c. 1700 – 1775). The “Sammartini Brothers” were listed as oboists in Milan in 1720, which is probably a reference to Giuseppe … Read more
Galuppi, Sonata in B-Flat Simpler melodies, lighter texture, moving easily from the expression of one emotion to another: these characteristics strongly contrasted with the aesthetics of the late Baroque, the contrapuntal complexity of J. S. Bach, Handel, and Telemann. The new style was called galant or, in … Read more
Monza, Sinfonia in D Major (“La tempesta di mare”) In 1770, the 14-year-old Mozart was in Milan studying the music of some of Italy’s most important composers. Primary among them was Giovanni Battista Sammartini, but another prominent Milanese composer was Carlo Monza (c. 1735-1801). (This … Read more
Tosti, Tristezza The Neopolitan Song (Canzone napoletana) flourished from the mid 19th to early 20th century. While songs of this genre tended to be newly composed, they drew heavily on the folk traditions of Naples and the surrounding area. Highly melodic and passionate, they were … Read more
