Viotti: Duos for 2 Violins Fabrizio Falasca & Gianmaria Melis

• Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755 - 1824): Duo Concertans, Op. 9 No. 1:
• 1Viotti: Duo Concertans, Op. 9 No. 1: I. Andante01:12
• 2Viotti: Duo Concertans, Op. 9 No. 1: II. Allegro vivace e con Brio09:55
• 3Viotti: Duo Concertans, Op. 9 No. 1: III. Andante04:09
• 4Viotti: Duo Concertans, Op. 9 No. 1: IV. Allegretto quasi Presto05:24
• Duo, Op. 29 No. 1:
• 5Viotti: Duo, Op. 29 No. 1: I. Allegro Vivace09:07
• 6Viotti: Duo, Op. 29 No. 1: II. Andante02:56
• 7Viotti: Duo, Op. 29 No. 1: III. Allegro scherzando e Vivo03:52
• Duo Concertans, Op. 9 No. 3:
• 8Viotti: Duo Concertans, Op. 9 No. 3: I. Grandioso ed Espressivo08:14
• 9Viotti: Duo Concertans, Op. 9 No. 3: II. Menuetto Trio03:49
• 10Viotti: Duo Concertans, Op. 9 No. 3: III. Andante Cantabile02:31
• 11Viotti: Duo Concertans, Op. 9 No. 3: IV. Allegretto05:49
• Duo, Op. 29 No. 3:
• 12Viotti: Duo, Op. 29 No. 3: I. Maestoso moderato e con molta Espressione11:55
• 13Viotti: Duo, Op. 29 No. 3: II. Adagio02:19
• 14Viotti: Duo, Op. 29 No. 3: III. Allegro agitato Assai07:21
• Total Runtime01:18:33

Info for Viotti: Duos for 2 Violins

Giovanni Battista Viotti composed 29 violin concertos, three sinfonie concertanti, a cello concerto, countless quartets, at least 20 trios for two violins and cello and an impressive array of violin duos, four of the latter recorded here.

Described in contemporary reports as a generous and highly charismatic musician driven by idealistic zeal, he is now universally recognised as one of the greatest violinists of all time. In hindsight, it is clear that he and his vast oeuvre occupied a key historical position.

He appeared at a pivotal moment between the end of the ancien régime and the start of the modern era: a period when, in social terms, music began to escape the courts and entertain the growing middle classes, laying the foundations for modern concert-going and the figure of the freelance musician.

A period when various national traditions, both in terms of instruments and compositions, began to meet and influence each other with unprecedented dynamism, and when the formal rigour of Classicism gave way to the pathos of Romanticism.

Viotti was at the heart of this time of dramatic change: the standard-bearer for a centuries-old Italian violin school that included Arcangelo Corelli, Antonio Vivaldi, Pietro Locatelli, Giuseppe Tartini and Viotti’s teacher Gaetano Pugnani. He took this esteemed group’s technical achievements away from the Baroque and Galant style into a new era, with the arrival of Niccolò Paganini just around the corner. He was admired by Mozart, inspired the virtuosity of Paganini’s concertos, was central because of his years lived in London to the evolution of British musical life, and must surely be considered the most significant figure in the entire French violin school.

Later violin giants Pierre Rode, Rodolphe Kreutzer and Pierre Baillot were all strongly influenced by his work Viotti’s renowned cantabile style is echoed in the violin writing of both Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms and is amply represented in the four violin duos on this album.

Fabrizio Falasca, violin
Gianmaria Melis, violin

Fabrizio Falasca
is considered among the leading Italian violinists of his generation.

He regularly performs as soloist in the most prestigious theaters and festivals throughout the world, such as the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Brahms Saal of the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Teatro San Carlo in Napoli, to name a few. He is in demand as a guest concertmaster with world class orchestras including the Philharmonia of London, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and regularly leads the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Petruzzelli Orchestra in Bari, Verdi Philharmonic Orchestra in Salerno, and the Tiroler Festspiele Orchestra in Erl, Austria, often upon direct invitation by Maestros such as Daniel Oren and Gustav Kuhn. In 2016, he won the Concertmaster position of the Tyroler Symphonie Orchester Innsbruck, and in the same year he joined the Philharmonia Orchestra in London as Assistant Leader.

He regularly performs chamber music with his string quartet, the Philharmonia Chamber Players, and with musicians such as B. Canino, F. Petracchi, J. Ju, D. Waskiewitcz, and A. Pompa-Baldi among others. Falasca is often featured on the Italian national broadcasting company RAI, as well as on BBC Radio, and is a prolific recording artist for various labels.

He is a laureate of the Vittorio Veneto and the Postacchini International Violin Competitions. Fabrizio studied with Salvatore Accardo at the Stauffer Academy, with Felice Cusano at the Fiesole Music School, and Dora Schwarzberg at the Pinerolo Academy. After his studies in Italy, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he earned a Master’s degree as a student of So-Ock Kim. He also received guidance from artists such as Maxim Vengerov and Leonid Kavakos.

He is currently violin professor at the Conservatory of Potenza, Italy and at the London Performing Academy of Music. He plays a J.Guarneri 1727 violin gifted by the Barison family.

Gianmaria Melis
Lead violinist of the Teatro Lirico Foundation in Cagliari since 2009, Gianmaria began studying the violin under the guidance of Paolo Marascia, then continued with George Mönche, Igor Volochine, Felice Cusano and Sergey Krylov. At the age of seventeen he won second prize at the national Mario Benvenuti violin competition, the City of Vittorio Veneto Prize, and the following year he was awarded full marks for his violin diploma at the Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina conservatoire of Cagliari.

Gianmaria perfected his studies in masterclasses with Nicolas Chumachenco and Thomas Brandis, and trained in orchestral courses with the Italian Youth Orchestra, as lead violinist for two years. At the same time, he studied quartet and chamber music with Piero Farulli. Gianmaria won three international orchestral competitions, at the Arturo Toscanini of Parma, Teatro Lirico of Cagliari and Haydn of Bolzano and Trento Foundations.

Gianmaria has performed with various orchestras: Sinfonica Nazionale of the RAI of Turin, Pomeriggi Musicali of Milan, Filarmonica Toscanini of Parma, Teatro Carlo Felice of Genoa (lead violin of the seconds, front desk of the first violins), Galilei of Florence (lead violin during the conducting courses of Carlo Maria Giulini), Sinfonica Haydn of Bolzano and Trento, Sicilian Symphonic Orchestra (lead violin of the seconds). Over the years he has been invited as guest lead violinist by orchestras such as: Orchestra of the Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra of the Teatro Petruzzelli of Bari, Orchestra Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Orchestra of the Teatro Verdi of Salerno. Gianmaria has performed under the baton of world class conductors, including: Carlo Maria Giulini, Yuri Ahronovich, Lorin Maazel, Frans Brüggen, Donato Renzetti, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Ton Koopman, Trevor Pinnock, Christopher Hogwood, Daniele Gatti, Maurizio Benini, Marko Letonya.

In the chamber music field he has collaborated with prestigious musicians including: Sergej Krylov, Hans-Jörg Schellenberger, Pierre Goy, Eric Sielberger, Giuseppe Gullotta.

Since 2014 Gianmaria has been violinist of the Novafonic Quartet, a formation of soloists and principal parts of leading orchestras, performing a contemporary repertoire of Piazzollian inspiration and jazz.

He regularly holds Masterclasses for advanced instrumentalists.

During his career, Gianmaria has performed in France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, England, Romania, Holland, Austria, United States.

He recently made his début as a soloist at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York, playing Beethoven’s triple concerto.

He has recorded for the KNS Classical record company, with the Novafonic Quartet and in duo with the pianist Giuseppe Gullotta.

He plays a copy Guarneri “Le Duc” violin made by Philippe Girardin in 2019.

This album contains no booklet.