This dissertation is aimed at producing the critical edition of the concerto for violin and orchestra W I: 26 by Giovanni Battista Viotti of which, currently, no modern edition is available. The introductory study deals with the historical context and biography of the author limited to the period in which the work in question was composed, namely the ‘90s of the eighteenth century in London. The historical analysis of the genre concerto follows, starting from its birth in the early eighteenth century and reaching the early ‘80s, when Viotti began composing, in order to describe its development and the link with other contemporary genres. The concerto was born in the heart of the Baroque age and maintains its basic principles up to the Romanticism: therefore this dissertation reflects on its role within the above stylistic transformation, how it is influenced and how it in turn inspires the new genres. For this purpose, the treatises of the time and the musicological thought of the twentieth century and contemporary are considered to understand the relationship between the first movement of the concerto and the sonata form. Useful to frame the topic, is the detailed description of all Viotti's violin concertos considering their formal and stylistic characteristics. The composer's configuration adopts the salient features of the style of the violin and orchestra concertos, but strongly reflects his personal artistic vision. Viotti's "reform" transforms the concerto galant style of the time into a mature and classic one which in turn constitutes a basis for the evolution of the genre during the romantic era. Viotti's style deeply affects contemporaries also from an aesthetic-executive point of view, influencing the next violinist’s generation, known as the "new French school". A study on the stylistic path of the composer during his twenty-year career follows. It is divided into several time frames, each corresponding to a different place where the musician lived or worked. Each chronological period is characterized by a specific compositional style, although no radical changes are detected during his activity. The classical Viotti violin concerto represented a model for generations of subsequent violinists-composers. The features of his work are defined and mature throughout all his career and distinguish among that of his predecessors and contemporaries. The above historical premises serve as the background to analyze the W I: 26 concerto in detail and to understand its nature deriving from the described context. At the same time specific elements of stylistic novelty and technical innovation reached by the author the height of his professional experience has been identified. The core part is dedicated to the critical edition. The editorial tradition of the concert is described, specifically the peculiar characteristics that distinguish the individual sources remaining are reported. Attention is paid in detail to the differences detected from the textual point of view, such as the different notation of the signs of articulation and embellishments. The final edition of the score including its critical apparatus is finally provided. This edition derives from the collection of eleven sources, who refer to three different editions, among which the first, in chronological sense, can be identified as the reference text. The orchestra is made up of the following instruments: flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, first and second violins, violas, cellos and double basses. The edition produced can be considered complete and correct, ready to be studied by musicologists and performers.
La tesi è finalizzata alla produzione dell’edizione critica del concerto per violino e orchestra W I: 26 di G. B. Viotti, di cui attualmente non esiste edizione moderna. Il lavoro inizia con uno studio introduttivo, che tratta in primo luogo del contesto storico e della biografia dell’autore circoscritti al periodo in cui è stata composta l’opera in esame, ovvero gli anni Novanta del Settecento a Londra. Si passa successivamente all’analisi storica del genere del concerto, dalla sua nascita all’inizio del XVIII secolo fino ai primi anni Ottanta, quando Viotti inizia a comporre, per mostrare il suo sviluppo e il legame con i generi coevi. Il concerto nasce nel cuore del barocco e mantiene i suoi principi basilari fino al Romanticismo: pertanto, nella presente trattazione, si riflette sul suo ruolo all’interno di questa trasformazione stilistica, come ne viene influenzato e come a sua volta ispira i nuovi generi. In particolare, viene per questo presa in esame la trattatistica dell’epoca e il pensiero musicologico del Novecento e contemporaneo, per comprendere il rapporto tra il primo movimento del concerto e la forma sonata. Il passaggio successivo utile ad inquadrare l’argomento è la descrizione dei concerti per violino di Viotti, nelle caratteristiche formali e stilistiche, in ordine cronologico. La scrittura del compositore assume nei concerti per violino e orchestra i tratti salienti dello stile del concerto adattandolo alla personale visione artistica. La “riforma” di Viotti trasforma lo stile galante del concerto del tempo in uno stile classico maturo che costituisce a sua volta una base per l’evoluzione del genere nell’epoca romantica. Lo stile di Viotti incide profondamente sui contemporanei anche dal punto di vista estetico-esecutivo influenzando la generazione successiva di violinisti, conosciuta come la “nuova scuola francese”. Ne deriva anche uno studio sul percorso stilistico del compositore nel corso della sua ventennale carriera che viene suddivisa in più archi temporali, ognuno corrispondente a un diverso luogo in cui il musicista ha vissuto o lavorato. Ogni periodo cronologico è contraddistinto da uno specifico stile compositivo, sebbene non si riscontrino, durante la sua attività, cambiamenti radicali nel modo di comporre o nella scrittura. Viotti porterà alla maturazione il concerto per violino nell’epoca classica, che diventerà il modello per le generazioni di violinisti-compositori successive. La traiettoria di questo sviluppo, che distingue la sua opera da quella dei suoi predecessori e contemporanei, si definisce e matura lungo tutto l’arco della sua carriera. Partendo da queste premesse storiche, è stato possibile analizzare nel dettaglio il concerto W I: 26, comprendendone la natura ed al contempo individuare gli specifici elementi di novità stilistica ed innovazione tecnica cui l’autore è pervenuto al culmine della sua esperienza professionale. Nella parte dedicata all’edizione critica, viene descritta la tradizione editoriale del concerto e vengono riportate le caratteristiche peculiari che contraddistinguono i singoli testimoni rimasti. Nel dettaglio si è posta l’attenzione sulle differenze rilevate dal punto di vista testuale, come ad esempio la diversa notazione dei segni di articolazione e degli abbellimenti. A questo punto viene fornita l’edizione della partitura con relativo apparato critico. Tale edizione deriva dalla collazione di undici testimoni, i quali fanno riferimento a tre differenti edizioni, tra le quali la prima in senso cronologico è individuabile quale testo di riferimento. L’organico della partitura, oltre al violino solista, si compone dei seguenti strumenti: flauto, due oboi, due clarinetti, due fagotti, due corni, violini primi e secondi, viole, violoncelli e contrabbassi. L’edizione prodotta può essere considerata completa e corretta, pronta per essere studiata dai musicologi e dagli esecutori.
Concerto per violino W I: 26 di Giovanni Battista Viotti: studio introduttivo e edizione critica
BETTI, COLOMBA
2018/2019
Abstract
This dissertation is aimed at producing the critical edition of the concerto for violin and orchestra W I: 26 by Giovanni Battista Viotti of which, currently, no modern edition is available. The introductory study deals with the historical context and biography of the author limited to the period in which the work in question was composed, namely the ‘90s of the eighteenth century in London. The historical analysis of the genre concerto follows, starting from its birth in the early eighteenth century and reaching the early ‘80s, when Viotti began composing, in order to describe its development and the link with other contemporary genres. The concerto was born in the heart of the Baroque age and maintains its basic principles up to the Romanticism: therefore this dissertation reflects on its role within the above stylistic transformation, how it is influenced and how it in turn inspires the new genres. For this purpose, the treatises of the time and the musicological thought of the twentieth century and contemporary are considered to understand the relationship between the first movement of the concerto and the sonata form. Useful to frame the topic, is the detailed description of all Viotti's violin concertos considering their formal and stylistic characteristics. The composer's configuration adopts the salient features of the style of the violin and orchestra concertos, but strongly reflects his personal artistic vision. Viotti's "reform" transforms the concerto galant style of the time into a mature and classic one which in turn constitutes a basis for the evolution of the genre during the romantic era. Viotti's style deeply affects contemporaries also from an aesthetic-executive point of view, influencing the next violinist’s generation, known as the "new French school". A study on the stylistic path of the composer during his twenty-year career follows. It is divided into several time frames, each corresponding to a different place where the musician lived or worked. Each chronological period is characterized by a specific compositional style, although no radical changes are detected during his activity. The classical Viotti violin concerto represented a model for generations of subsequent violinists-composers. The features of his work are defined and mature throughout all his career and distinguish among that of his predecessors and contemporaries. The above historical premises serve as the background to analyze the W I: 26 concerto in detail and to understand its nature deriving from the described context. At the same time specific elements of stylistic novelty and technical innovation reached by the author the height of his professional experience has been identified. The core part is dedicated to the critical edition. The editorial tradition of the concert is described, specifically the peculiar characteristics that distinguish the individual sources remaining are reported. Attention is paid in detail to the differences detected from the textual point of view, such as the different notation of the signs of articulation and embellishments. The final edition of the score including its critical apparatus is finally provided. This edition derives from the collection of eleven sources, who refer to three different editions, among which the first, in chronological sense, can be identified as the reference text. The orchestra is made up of the following instruments: flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, first and second violins, violas, cellos and double basses. The edition produced can be considered complete and correct, ready to be studied by musicologists and performers.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/11533