EARLY ITALIAN VIOLONCELLO
Music Played by JULIETTE ALVIN
THE violoncellist is very much less well off than his little brother, the violinist, in the music provided by the older masters for his instrument. Compared with pianists, he is in that respect a very beggar. And so for generations, violoncellists have had to make good the deficiency as best they might by stealing from the other instruments and re-arranging music not originally meant for them. Among the old Italian masters there is a wealth of delightfully melodious music which loses nothing, and, indeed, often gains by being transferred from the violin or one of the other instruments, to the resonant violoncello, and many eminent hands have done good work in making such arrangements. Listeners are to hear, at this period throughout the week, melodious examples from Italian music of the order which has earned for itself the title of ' secondary classics.'
In the spacious and dignified age before the virtuoso made his appearance on the stage of musical life, when the task of the artist was to delight rather than to astonish his audience, Corelli held sway as the ruling master of his instrument. Alike as player and as teacher, ho exercised an influence on the whole art of violin playing which it would be difficult to over-estimate.