Anzoletti Violin Music

Edited: January 19, 2018, 11:42 AM · Hello fellow violinists-

I wanted to share with you a brand new publication for violin, Un Frase di S. Bach variata by Marco Anzoletti (1866-1929). It is a brilliant and challenging work in one movement, about 17 minutes long, a real monster! It is a set of variations on the opening theme of Bach's Sonata No. 2 III. Andante.

It is available at www.gemsmusicpublications.com

As it turns out, Anzoletti is kind of an undiscovered genius who is really only known by violists who studied at the Milan Conservatory because his 12 Studi for Viola solo are required material for graduation.

Here is the PREFACE I wrote which has some more general information about Anzoletti.

This edition of the Una Frase di S. Bach variata by Marco Anzoletti (b. Trento, ITALY, 4 June 1866; d. Trento, ITALY, 23 January 1929) is based upon the autograph manuscript >> 62/ Una Frase di S. Bach variata/ per/ Violino solo/ Marco Anzoletti/ Ms autografo << found in the Biblioteca comunale della città di Trento (Trento, ITALY). The manuscript is undated and it appears to have never been published, and it is unclear whether the work has ever been performed or premiered. The main theme is a statement directly taken from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata No. 2 in A minor for solo violin, BWV 1003 III. Andante.

Anzoletti was born into a family of musicians, learning the rudiments of music from his father Louis who was a cellist. His early studies included violin and composition lessons at the Milan Conservatory in 1879, and later on he went to Vienna for advanced studies with Jacob Grün. Eventually, Anzoletti settled in Milan in 1889 after being appointed to his former teacher’s position (de Angelis), a post he held until his retirement in 1928. In the spirit of Alessandro Rolla, the founding violin/viola professor at the Milan Conservatory, Anzoletti maintained a studio of violinists and violists while in his spare time maintaining an active life as a prolific composer.

Anzoletti wrote a vast amount of chamber music, about 359 works- the majority of that being music for violin and piano (218 works), and as well about 30 violin concertos. In addition to this work for solo violin, other solo violin works by Anzoletti include: Aria e Fuga Sopra il Nome di Bach in B-flat major [1913], Aria e Fuga Sopra un Tema del Trillo del Diavolo in G major [1916], Esercizi, Fantasia-Capriccio in A major [1913], 5 Gran Capricci [1884], Labyrinthos: 104 Variazioni [1916], Moto Perpetuo Sopra Movimenti di Scale in C major, 3 Preludi, 36 Preludi, 32 Preludi in Tutte le Tonalità [1909], Sarabanda Variata Seb. Bach, Serenata [1909], and Sonata in Stile Antico in G minor [1908]. A complete listing of Anzoletti’s violin works has been compiled by Francesca Deflorian in her doctoral thesis Marco Anzoletti. A Preliminary Catalog of His Instrumental Works (2005) for Rice University, Houston, Texas, UNITED STATES.

Kenneth Martinson

Replies (3)

Jason Reaves

January 19, 2018, 7:25 PM · As a lover of Bach and the Andante in particular, I find this intriguing. How does the technical difficulty of this piece compare to the G minor Fugue or Chaconne?

Kenneth Martinson

January 29, 2018, 9:25 PM · The variata on S. Bach is SUPER Challenging, probably even more difficult! The published books came in this week, ready to ship for interested violinists!

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Anzoletti Violin Music

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