Arcangelo Corelli

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Arcangelo Corelli was granted the pleasure of tasting the fame due to him in full measure during his own lifetime. For decades, he received the patronage of powerful persons, enabling him to live his life without any material worries. His path ran straight and without bothersome influences from others. Born as the fifth child of a well to do family in Fusignano near Ravenna, he was provided with music lessons at a very early age.

Corelli was held in the highest prestige both as a violinist and a concert master. One of his most significant patrons was Queen Christina of Sweden. In 1687, Cardinal Benedetto Pamphilli engaged Corelli for a princely salary as leader of the concerts he regularly put on in his palatial home. Soon thereafter we find him in the service of the mighty Cardinal Ottoboni, where he remained highly respected until his death in 1713, even though he withdrew from public life, ill and tortured with depression, in 1710.

1653-1713