Locatelli: Concerti Grossi Op.7 - Kammerorch. CPEB, Haenchen

Pietro Locatelli
Concerti Grossi Op.7
Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Hartmut Haenchen
Berlin Classics 0011332BC

There are not many recordings available of Locatelli's op.7 so you should not hesitate to get this great release. Enjoy!

Locatelli: Concerti a 4, Op.7 - Ensemble Baroque de Nice, Bezzina

Pietro Locatelli
Concerti a Quattro Op.7 (complete)
Ensemble Baroque de Nice, Gilbert Bezzina
ADDA 581118

Pretty rare recording though recommendable for it's high quality far more than for its rarity. May you all enjoy it as much as I have.
- Sankerib

Locatelli: Introduttioni Teatrali and Concerti Op.4 - Wallfisch

Pietro Locatelli
Introduttioni Teatrali and Concerti Op.4
Raglan Baroque Players, Elizabeth Wallfisch
Hyperion CDA67041-2

Locatelli is, of course, an exceptionally tasty sheep's milk cheese related to Romano, but he was also a very important and talented composer of violin music. Later generations looked back at him as the "Baroque Paganini," and his music abounds in technical difficulties and flashy writing for the soloist. Of course, instrumental virtuosity alone doesn't make a great composer, but in this collection of concertos and orchestra suites we see that the challenge of writing other types of music didn't faze Locatelli composer one bit. The so-called "Theatrical Introductions" are what we now call "overtures" or "suites," consisting largely of dance movements arranged in a pleasing sequence. The whole collection is expertly performed by this excellent "authentic" instrument group.

David Hurwitz, Amazon Editorial Review

Locatelli: L'Arte del Violino - Carmignola, TVO, Andrea Marcon

Pietro Locatelli
L'Arte del Violino, Concertos No. 1, 2, 10, 11
Giuliano Carmignola, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Andrea Marcon
Sony SK 89729

Locatelli's set of 12 concertos for violin, L'Arte del Violino, were published in 1733, but might have largely written earlier. They demonstrate his mastery of violin technique as a player and as a composer, each concerto has two movements marked "capriccio", a cadenza which was meant to display his superb skill as a violinist and to terrorise other violinists for hundreds of years. So they are not "easy listening", but its worth the effort, and this is a superb interpretation by Giuliano Carmignola and the Venice Baroque Orchestra. Other CDs of Italian Baroque Violin concerts beautifully played by Carmignola & Venice Baroque are also available.

Ross Kennett, Amazon Customer Review

Torelli, Mossi, Valentini, Locatelli, Leo: Concerti - MAK, Goebel

Torelli, Mossi, Valentini, Locatelli, Leo
Concerti
Musica Antiqua Köln, Reinhard Goebel
Archiv 435 393-2

Even the most assiduous collectors and discerning connoisseurs of baroque concertos are likely to find some novelties in this unusual programme from Cologne Musica Antiqua. Three of the concertos belong to the Roman school (Mossi, Valentini and Locatelli), though the latter shows marked Venetian leanings, both in his adoption of a three-movement structure and in details of style, while the remaining two are products of Bologna (Torelli) and Naples (Leo). In his interesting introductory note the ensemble's director, Reinhard Goebel, provides a lively and characteristically idiosyncratic commentary on the pieces and their background, but arrives at the conclusion that ''in the last analysis the composers fall foul of their chosen instrumental forces: four violins of equal status proved to be a medium for which interesting curiosities can be written, but not great music sustained at any length''. In the case of the five concertos played here I am inclined to agree with him. However, the generalization should not be allowed to pass without censure since Vivaldi succeeded very well in writing for four violins as the Tenth Concerto of L'estro armonico unequivocally demonstrates. Goebel does rather grudgingly, perhaps, admit this later in his essay.

Whatever the doubts may be concerning the intrinsic merit of these works, they nevertheless provide a fascinating glimpse of what composers other than Corelli on the one hand or Vivaldi on the other were up to. The Concerto in E minor by Torelli is not as innovative as the six works with solo violin from his Op. 8, but it has a wellconstructed fugal second movement and a finale containing melodic material which perhaps hints at folk derivation. In the Mossi (c. 1700) and Valentini concertos, perhaps the most interesting pieces here, there is an effective freedom of part-writing within fairly restricted technical boundaries, though I should add that there are, too, brief virtuosic passages for cello in the finale of the Mossi.

Goebel who, alas, was unable to play the violin himself in this recording following an injury to his arm, directs effectively, pointing up the rich and contrasting textures present in much of this repertory. The opening Largo and ensuing fugue of the Valentini are striking examples of this. Locatelli and Leo are better known and their music brings an altogether later rococo airiness to the programme. Perhaps Goebel would now consider letting loose his excellent cellist, Phoebe Carrai, on one or more of Leo's cello concertos. In short, a fascinating programme, played with zeal and precision. Recommended.'

Nicholas Anderson, Gramophone Magazine

Locatelli: Concerti Grossi Op.1 - Freib. Barockorchester

Pietro Locatelli
Concerti Grossi Op.1
Freiburger Barockorchester, Gottfried von der Goltz
Harmonia Mundi HMC901889

Classics Today rating: 10/10

There is absolutely nothing here to criticize. The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra is one of the premier ensembles of its type, and it performs this music on top form. Locatelli's Op. 1 is nicely varied as to content, particularly in this selection. Only one concerto (No. 7) follows Vivaldi's three-movement "Venetian" form; the remainder are modeled on Corelli's concerti grossi and have four or five movements apiece. Locatelli's "sarabandas" are particularly lovely, and they are enhanced by the characterfully varied treatment of the continuo throughout these performances. Concerto No. 8 is a "pastoral", as in Corelli's famous Christmas Concerto, while four of the six works featured here employ minor keys, which only heightens the music's expressive intensity. In short, you won't find a better-chosen, more appealing selection of high Baroque concertos anywhere, and the engineering is typically splendid. For fans of the period, this is self-recommending.

David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com