Tommaso Albinoni (Venice, 1671 - 1750) was a composer and violinist from a cultured and well-to-do Venetian family. He set 48 melodramas to music, though only some twenty arias and librettos have come down to us. His instrumental compositions have, however, all been preserved, including 9 printed collections (5 with sonatas for three instruments for chamber and church; 4 symphonies or concerts for five).

Albinoni’s symphonies, especially, are highly original and, although not as brilliant as Vivaldi or Benedetto Marcello, he was definitely one of the many talented instrumental concert musicians in Venice in the 1700s. The ensemble concert for strings and the solo concert for viola or oboe were the most suitable forms of music for this Venetian musician’s skills and technique.

1600 - 1700 - - rev. 0.1.5