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Pietro Antonio Locatelli
(September 3, 1695–March 30, 1764)
was an Italian composer and violinist.
Biography
Locatelli was born
in Bergamo in Italy. A child prodigy on the violin,
he was sent to
study in Rome under the direction of Arcangelo Corelli.
Little is known
of his subsequent activities except that he finally settled in
Amsterdam in 1729, where he died.
Locatelli was a master at the violin, said to have never played a
wrong note except once, when his little finger slipped and got stuck
in the bridge of his instrument.
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| to |
be born in |
être né à |
| a |
prodigy |
prodige |
|
on the violin |
au violon |
|
little is known |
on connaît peu de choses |
|
subsequent |
suivant |
| to |
settle |
s'établir |
| to |
die |
mourir |
| to |
be a master at |
être un maître dans |
| a |
wrong note |
fausse note |
|
except once |
sauf une fois |
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little finger |
petit doigt |
| to |
slip - slipped |
glisser |
| to |
get stuck |
rester coincé |
| the |
bridge |
chevalet |
|
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Locatelli's works
are mainly for the violin, an instrument on which he was a virtuoso.
His most significant publication is probably the Arte del violino, opus 3, a collection of twelve concertos for the instrument which incorporate twenty four technically demanding capriccios (or caprices) - these could function as extended cadenzas, but are now usually extracted and played in isolation from the concertos.
Locatelli also
wrote violin sonatas, a cello sonata, trio sonatas, concerti grossi and
a set of flute sonatas (his opus 2). His early works show the influence
of Arcangelo Corelli, while later pieces are closer to Antonio Vivaldi
in style.
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|
mainly |
essentiellement |
| a |
virtuoso |
virtuose |
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publication |
publication |
| to |
incorporate |
incorporer |
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technically |
techniquement |
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demanding |
exigeant |
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funtion |
fonctionner |
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cadenza (-s) |
cadence |
| to |
extract |
extraire |
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in isolation from |
isolément de |
| a |
set of |
un jeu de |
|
early works |
premières oeuvres |
| to |
show |
montrer |
| to |
be closer to |
être plus proche de |
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| Locatelli may be best known to the modern public for a piece that does not actually exist. Master and Commander, the first novel in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series,
begins with the famous line: 'The music-room in the governor's house at
Port Mahon, a tall, handsome, pillared octagon, was filled with the
triumphant first movement of Locatelli's C major quartet.' In fact,
Locatelli is not known to have written any quartets. The chamber piece used for this scene in the movie adaptation of Master and Commander was actually a quintet by Luigi Boccherini in C Major. |
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actually |
réellement |
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novel |
nouvelle |
| a |
series |
série |
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music-room |
salle de musique |
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tall |
grand |
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handsome |
bel |
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pillared |
à pilliers |
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octagon |
octogone |
| to |
be filled with |
être rempli de |
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triumphant |
triomphant |
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C major quartet |
quartet majeur en C |
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in fact |
en fait |
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chamber piece |
morceau de musique de chambre |
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