The art of composition attained a wholly new quality and a totally new aesthetic status with the works of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an art that their contemporaries already described as Classical. The standards these two masters set through their creations continue to shape our perceptions and criteria of evaluation to this day, yet we rarely think of the virtuosos who brought them to life and to whose outstanding skill they frequently owe their very existence. The Italian violinist Niccolo Mestrino was one such virtuoso. After several engagements with various orchestras in Italy he was appointed by Joseph Haydn as concertmaster of Prince Esterhazy's famous court orchestra in Eisenstadt. Later he became the leader of the orchestra of the Theâtre de Monsieur opera house in Paris. The works that are recorded here for the first time demonstrate that Mestrino was not only an extraordinary violinist but also an accomplished composer.
