Alessandro Rolla (22 April 1757 - 15 September 1841) was widely acknowledged in his time as a violin and, especially, viola virtuoso, composer and teacher, though now practically unknown. His contribution to technique, repertoire and history of music is greatly underestimated.
Still unknown to the majority of musicians and concert-goers, if remembered, it’s always due to his fame as “teacher of the great Paganini”, yet his role was very important...
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Alessandro Rolla (22 April 1757 - 15 September 1841) was widely acknowledged in his time as a violin and, especially, viola virtuoso, composer and teacher, though now practically unknown. His contribution to technique, repertoire and history of music is greatly underestimated.
Still unknown to the majority of musicians and concert-goers, if remembered, it’s always due to his fame as “teacher of the great Paganini”, yet his role was very important in the development of violin and viola technique. Some of the technical innovations that Paganini later used largely, such as left-hand pizzicato, chromatic ascending and descending scales, the use of very high positions on violin and viola, octave passages, were first introduced by Rolla.
Rolla was born in Pavia, Italy in 1757 and after his initial studies he moved to Milan where, from 1770 to 1778, he studied with Gian Andrea Fioroni, Maestro di cappella at Milan Cathedral, who was the most important musician in Milan after G. B. Sammartini...
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