Giovanni Antonio Guido (c.1675-1729) - Concerto B-Dur 'L'hyver' (1728)
Performers: La Stravaganza Köln
Further info: Giovanni Antonio Guido (c.1675-1729)
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Italian violinist and composer active mostly in France. His biography is
complicated by his use of both Guido and Antonio as surnames: the
privilèges générals of 1707 and 1726 refer to him as ‘Gio. Antonio
Guido’, while the compositions they cite are published as by ‘Mr
Antonio’. Most 18th-century sources refer to him simply as ‘Antonio’.
Coming probably from Genoa, he arrived at Naples and in December 1683
entered the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini, where he studied the
violin under Nicola Vinciprova. Five years later his brother Giuseppe
was an alto there, but of him we know no more. In 1691 Giovanni Antonio
was still in touch with the Conservatorio as a copyist, but during the
following years he was employed as a musician of the Royal Chapel. His
name was regularly inserted in the list of payments for this institution
from September 1698 to 6 January 1702, when he was replaced by Giuseppe
Avitrano. After this date Guido travelled to Paris. An account of a
concert given at Fontainebleau before the Queen of England in November
1703 (Mercure galant) praises him as an excellent violinist in the
service of the Duke of Orléans. Guido belonged to an orchestra supported
by the duke until at least 1726, rising to the position of maître de
musique. Since his arrival in France he was also esteemed as a composer.
Indeed, in October 1704 a composition by him was performed before the
King during one of the magnificent feasts given by the Duchess of Maine
at Sceaux. Probably during one of these occasions Antoine Watteau
painted him. Between 1714 and 1724 he took part in concerts at the home
of the financier Crozat. On 23 March 1728 a concerto by him was warmly
received at the Concert Spirituel. Nothing further is known of him, with
the most unlikely exception of a reference in 1759 to a mysterious
Antonio, a successor to a seat in the 24 Violons. As a composer Guido
showed an interesting ability to combine Italian and French stylistic
qualities; as a violinist he enjoyed considerable repute. Le Cerf de la
Viéville included him in a list of famous Italian violin virtuosos in
1705 (Comparaison de la musique italienne et de la musique françoise).
Later Titon du Tillet considered him important for familiarizing the
French with Italian music, while as late as 1776 Hawkins commented on
his international fame. The story that he was also a flautist has been
disproved.
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