Books › Famous violinists and fine violins : historical notes, anecdotes, and reminiscences, 1896 › scan 33
Scan 33
Famous violinists and fine violins : historical notes, anecdotes, and reminiscences, 1896
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 13. See the scan on archive.org.
1turn of mind, induced him to take a share in the management of the King's Theatre about the years 1794-95, and he became leader of the orchestra there.
3It was during this period, we are assured, that Viotti received "an order from the British Government" to quit England at once! Certainly that seems rather curious. The authenticity of that order, or its reason, I have never been able to discover. Some writers suppose it to have been connected with political matters, but it seems very much more reasonable to suppose that the celebrated violinist found that the management of the King's Theatre was running him into debt, and that he was really obliged to fly from his creditors. In fact, the "order from the British Government" may have been something in the nature of a writ!
5Anyhow, he went over to a secluded spot in Holland, to a place called Schonfeld, where he wrote several of his best compositions; and in the course of a few years, when his troubles, whatever they may have been, had subsided, he returned to England.
7This was in 1801, and, however strange and incredible it may appear, he came to London this time to establish himself as a wine merchant. We find him now at the head of a considerable concern, surrounded by clerks and customers, attending punctually to business during the day,
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