I Musici

I MUSICI

I Musici, founded in 1952, followed in the path of the Virtuosi di Roma. Felix Ayo, their first violin, had been the pupil of Remy Principe, concertmaster of I Virtuosi. I Musici were a sort of Young Virtuosi di Roma, cadets. At least this is how they were seen by the public, who adopted them the way mascots are adopted. I Musici later went their own way, at least in part, and took on Bach and Handel, Mozart, Haydn and Rossini, 20th century composers, and even the late 19th century with the Little Suite, Op. 1 by Carl Nielsen. More a string group open to a wide-ranging repertory than an ambassador of Italian music. But in the concert on this album, I Musici were still the cadets of I Virtuosi di Roma and offered a program composed entirely of 18th century music that culminated in Vivaldi. Typical of those years was the inclusion of a pre-classical composer - or Rococo, if you like - in a Baroque context. The Concerto in C Major by Giovanni Paisiello was composed in 1780, when Mozart had already written many of his concertos, including the K. 271. It is a "light" work, designed to please amateurs and especially, as they were called at the time, the beau sexe.

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