Personendetails

Giovanni Battista Viotti

Viotti, Giovanni Battista (1755-1824). Italian violinist and composer. Studied with Pugnani. He toured Europe in the 1780s and settled in Paris as court violinist until the Revolution. Moved to London in 1792, performing in Salomon’s concerts and in the Italian Opera in the King’s Theatre before being wrongly accused of treason and forced into temporary exile for three years. He returned in 1801 but failed to establish himself in musical society. For four years he was director of the new Italian Opera in Paris (1818-1822) before circumstances conspired to force his return again to London, this time in poverty. Compositional output of many instrumental and orchestral works including 29 violin concerti and 12 violin sonatas. Some of these works retained a place in didactic repertoire throught the nineteenth century.