Evening star., 1953-11-29
A Double Anniversary
Menuhin to Play Works by CoreIIi
And Viotti in Commemorution
News of Music
in Commemorution
By Alice Eyersman


Commemoration of the birth
anniversaries of two great vio-
linists and composers will be
observed locally Tuesday night
when Yehudi Menuhin plays
works by Corelli and Viotti
in Constitution Hall. There
has been little in the way Of a
national or international re-
membering of these important
men this year. Yet without
them, the history of violin per-
formance in particular and
perhaps the history of music
would have been retarded If
not turned into other paths.
Born in 1853, Arcangelo
Corelli stands at the head OF
a dynasty of which Jean Bap-
tiste Viotti, who came into this
world a century and three
months later, is a direct de-
scendant. For through Gio-
vanni SomiS, pupil of Corelli,
and through his pupil, Gae-
tano Pugnani, the principles
of Corelli's art were trans
mitted with fidelity to Viotti
who so amplif1ed them as to be
recognized today as "the
father of modern violin play
ing" AS composers they left
an indelible mark on both Or
chestral and solo composition,
Corelli in the role of reformer,
and Viotti as innovator in the
concerto form and in the use
of the orchestra in accom-
panying.
Lives Differed
Except for the adulation
heaped upon them as the
greatest violinists of their gen.
Grafton, the lives Of the two
artists had little similarity.
Corelli's moved rather calm
" in the cultured atmosphere
of Roman aristocracy until
the end. Viotti's was filled
with trouble, frightened only
by the constant devotion OF
his fervid admirers. Both had
the good fortune early in life
to find powerful protectors
among the church hierarchy
so that their musical instruc-
ton and their existence dur
ing that period were taken
care of.
Corelli, busy in his luxurl-
Gus surroundings with pupils
that came from all over Eu-
rope to study with him, and
with his composing, was able
to accumulate a fortune esti-
mated at 100000 at his death.
His large collection of paint
ings was one of the most val
liable in Europe. He was bur-
led with pomp in the Panth-
con near to the tomb OF Ra-
phael and for years his pupils
marked his death anniversary
with a procession through the
city to his grave.
Not His Foult
In his will, Viotti wrote, "a
little earth will suffice for such
a miserable creature as my
self" There is no accurate
record of where he is buried,
although it is supposed he lies
in st. Pancras Cemetery in
London. His poverty rested
heavily on his mind in the
last years of his life and he
sought in his testament to re-
imburse those who had helped
him, by instructions for the
sale of his few things of value.
The fault was not his. A
favorite with Frederick the
Great, with whom he played
concerted numbers, a welcome
artist in every city he appeared
in on concert tours, and so
popular in Paris that his in
tended stay of a few months
heightened into 10 years, he
had the world at his feet. But
fate was against him. The
clouds of the French Revolu-
ton were gathering. The
patronage extended him by
Marie Antoinette, while it
opened the way for him to
bring Italian opera again to
Paris as director of the
Theatre de Monsieur, was cut
short by her arrest.
Fleeing to England. he was
for a time we'll established as
an artist on Salomon'S con-
cert series and later as part