Scan 25
Famous Violinists and Fine Violins: Historical Notes, Anecdotes, and …, 1903
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1far forgot himself as to snatch the instrument from the hand of Corelli, to show him where the accent fell. The latter replied, with his accustomed mildness, "My dear Saxon, this music is in the foreign style, which I do not understand at all." A much more serious mishap occurred to Corelli at Naples, where he was astonished at the brilliant playing of the orchestra. Out of compliment to his great reputation, he was appointed to lead a composition by Scarlatti; and on arriving at an air in A minor, he led off in C major. We are told by rival contemporaries that it was some considerable time before he could discern his mistake; but that is palpably absurd.
3As the result of assiduous labour Corelli became a great violinist, his fame spreading far and wide, and the number of his pupils increasing year by year. He was appointed leader of the orchestra at Rome about the year 1690. As a solo player, we are assured, his style was learned and elegant, his tone firm and even, and his performance occasionally impressed with feeling. No doubt it was somewhat cold—the usual result of too much labour—and when, several years later, he played before the King of Naples, that monarch was so wearied with one of Corelli's adagios that he got up and left the room before the piece was finished. Again, at Cardinal Ottoboni's in Rome, his patron and protector, the playing of Corelli was not striking
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