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Pietro Antonio LOCATELLI (1695 - 1764): "Il labirinto armonico - Three violin concertos"
Ilya Gringolts, violin
Finnish Baroque Orchestra
Dir: Ilya Gringolts
rec: Jan 2019, Järvenpää Church (FI)
BIS - 2445 
(© 2020) (61'49")
Liner-notes: E/D/F
Cover, track-list & booklet
Scores
Spotify
Concerto in G, op. 3,9;
Concerto in A, op. 3,11;
Concerto in D, op. 3,12
Irma Niskanen, Anni Elonen, Dora Asterstad, Anthony Marini, Tiina Aho-Erola, Anne Pekkala, violin;
Tuula Riisalo, Laura Kajander, viola;
Lea Pekkala, cello;
Petri Ainali, double bass;
Eero Palviainen, lute;
Petteri Pitko, harpsichord
Pietro Antonio Locatelli is known first and foremost as the composer of twelve virtuosic violin concertos which were published as his Opus 3 in 1733. In this capacity he is considered the "founding-father of modern instrumental virtuosity" as the Dutch musicologist Albert Dunning writes in New Grove.
Locatelli was a child prodigy and became a member of the instrumental ensemble of the basilica in his birthplace, Bergamo, at the age of 14. In 1711 he went to Rome, where he came under the influence of Corelli, although there is no evidence that he was his pupil. Locatelli spent most of his lifetime in Amsterdam, probably mainly because the city was the centre of music publishing in Europe. His opus 1 was published by Le Cène, who also printed other collections of orchestral music. Locatelli took care of printing and selling his own chamber music, though, which resulted in the publication of seven collections, from the Op. 2 to the Op. 8. As at his death he turned out to be quite prosperous he must have been a pretty good entrepreneur. He also sold musical instruments and strings, and he collected books and art. Although he mostly kept his distance from social life in the city, he regularly gave concerts at his home, probably for a circle of wealthy citizens.
Locatelli was arguably the greatest virtuoso of his time, and he himself certainly thought so. The story goes that after performing a dazzling solo he exclaimed: "Ah! What do you have to say about that?" However, if it comes down to style and taste, opinions were sharply divided. The Dutch organist Jacob Wilhelm Lustig, while acknowledging Locatelli's ability to captivate his audience with his virtuosity, stated that his playing was "so brutal that sensitive ears found it unbearable". There is a report about a concert by Locatelli and his French colleague Jean-Marie Leclair. It says that Leclair played like an angel and Locatelli like the Devil. Although there is considerable doubt about whether this concert ever took place, the comment sheds some light on the controversial nature of Locatelli as a performer. The same is true of his compositions. The English journalist Charles Burney showed little enthusiasm for his music which "excites more surprise than pleasure". His contemporary Charles Avison, a staunch admirer of Locatelli's colleague Francesco Geminiani, characterised Locatelli's music as "defective in various harmony and true invention".
There are some pretty harsh judgements in modern times as well. The article on Locatelli in the 1954 edition of the English music encyclopedia Grove states: "He oversteps all reasonable limits and aims at effects which, being adverse to the very nature of the violin, are neither beautiful nor musical, but ludicrous and absurd." Dunning comes up with a more balanced judgement: "Two aspects sit side by side in Locatelli's musical personality: as a composer spanning two eras he showed himself receptive to changes in the air, while as a performer his stance might even be described as provocative. The dichotomy this reveals has caused confusion in musicological writings: the questionable taste of many of the 24 caprices in the Arte del violino for a long time blinded critics to the historical value of a work whose exceptional technical demands placed Locatelli as the founding-father of the 19th-century virtuoso concerto."
There can be little doubt about Locatelli's importance with regard to the development of violin technique. In her liner-notes to the present disc, Marianne Rônez, herself a professional violinist, sums up the features of his technique: "extensions, octaves, unprepared tenths, double stops, arpeggios, simultaneous trills and melody (...) and playing in extremely high positions". The last of the Capriccios, included in the closing movement of the Concerto No. 12, is the most extreme example, as here Locatelli reaches 22nd position, beyond the compass of the modern fingerboard. Another aspect concerns the bowing technique. "Locatelli - as befits his virtuosity - makes brilliant use of long-established techniques such as arpeggio, staccato and fast détaché without, however, introducing any innovations."
Rônez also discusses the consequences of Locatelli's virtuosity and style of composing and playing. She refers to a contemporary who in a letter stated that Locatelli held the violin 'on the breast' and played with a short bow. However, as the author admits to know nothing about violin playing, this can't be taken seriously. "Extremely high positions are simply unplayable if the instrument is held on the breast." She believes that in Rome he must have learned to hold the instrument on the shoulder. She adds that Locatelli, in order to play the highest positions, must have used a violin with an extended fingerboard; examples of such instruments from the 18th century have survived. What kind of bow he played has to remain a mystery; the lenght of the bow could greatly vary at the time.
The unease about Locatelli's style of playing in his own time may also have been the fruit of the changes in musical taste during the 1730s and beyond. There was a longing for a more 'natural' style, away from pyrotechnics for their own sake. It was the time when Nature was seen as the source of Truth, and the closer a man got to Nature, the closer he got to the Truth. The specimens of these ideals were Christoph Willibald von Gluck in opera and Giuseppe Tartini in the field of instrumental music, and particularly the playing of and composing for the violin. Today the scepticism about Locatelli's output has not disappeared which could explain why it is not regularly performed and recorded, certainly not in comparison with the music of the likes of Vivaldi and Geminiani.
The present disc includes three concertos from the Op. 3, including the Capriccios. The latter are perfect demonstrations of Locatelli's technical virtuosity. He certainly did compose them for his own use in the first place. Their insertion was optional: other performers could omit them and play a 'traditional' cadenza instead. Too often only Locatelli's brilliance, as it comes to the fore in the Capriccios, is emphasized. However, these concertos include plenty good thematic material to be enjoyed by those who are not specifically interested in violin technique and just want to hear good music. They should investigate this disc and they will discover that these concertos are also not devoid of expression, and that goes especially for the slow movements.
To what extent the average music lover can enjoy Locatelli's violin concertos also depends on the performance. Ilya Gringolts, who has been active in the field of 'traditional performance practice' and played with many orchestras, shows here that he knows also how to play a baroque violin with gut strings and a baroque bow. He is undoubtedly a great virtuoso, and his execution of the Capriccios and other demanding passages in these concertos is highly impressive. At the same time, he does not forget to make music. The lyrical aspects and the expressive elements come off very well, with the excellent support of the Finnish Baroque Orchestra.
This disc convincingly shows that Locatelli has more to offer than just technical brilliance.
Johan van Veen (© 2021)
Relevant links:
Ilya Gringolts
Finnish Baroque Orchestra