Name: Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Hometown: Fusignano, Papal States (now Italy)
Listen to: ‘Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8’, ‘Sonata in F minor, Op. 3, No. 9′, Concerto grosso in D, Op. 6, No. 1’
Corelli was one of the most influential composers of the seventeenth century, highly praised for his virtuousic violin abilities. Today, he is widely known for developing the violin style and for his Concerto Grossi, which established the concerto grosso as a popular compositional form. Well aquainted with Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, a distinguished patron in Rome who was known for taking a fancy towards young men, he took up residence in his villa, La Cancelleria, an exclusive academy for male artists, in 1690. Corelli devoted himself to fellow violinist Matteo Fornani, and their relationship lasted over two decades.