Gasparo Visconti

Gasparo Visconti (born January 10, 1683 in Cremona , † possibly around 1713 there ) was an Italian violinist and composer .

Life

Gasparo Visconti came from a noble family and, according to his own statements, was a pupil of Arcangelo Corelli from 1697 to 1702 . From 1702 he stayed in London for a long time, where he often appeared as a soloist in theaters and concert halls. He enjoyed performing with his friend, French flautist Jacques Paisible (around 1656–1721). His sonatas for violin and flute were very popular in England. Visconti married Cristina Steffkin in London in 1704, and a daughter was born in Cremona in 1713. From around 1710 to at least 1723 he worked in his hometown, where Carlo Zuccari (1704–1793) was his student. Giuseppe Tartini traveled to Cremona to hear Visconti's violin playing. The reasons why Tartini published Visconti's violin concertos together with his own in 1730 have not been clarified, so it is reasonable to assume that Visconti had died earlier. Confusion arose from the fact that he was frequently mentioned as Gasparino, which often resulted in confusion with the Roman violinist Francesco Gasparini .

Works (selection)

• 6 sonatas for violin and B. c. and a trio sonata op. 1 (Amsterdam, 1703), expanded around 1710, known as "Gasperinis Solos".
• A collection "Airs pour la flûte" for 2 flutes, op. 2 (London, 1703)
• "The Third Book for the Violin", with an introduction for young players (London, 1704)
• 3 concertos for violin and strings
• 5 sonatas for violin and B. c.
• 6 concerti a 5 delli sigr. Giuseppe Tartini e Gasparo Visconti, op.1 (Amsterdam, around 1730)

Web link and source

• Biography on the website of MV Cremona (in Italian and English)
• Sheet music and audio files by Gasparo Visconti in the International Music Score Library Project