Pietro Ballerini Puviani

The long life of Don Pietro Gnocchi remains largely a mystery. We know the precise periods during which he worked at the Cathedral in Brescia, first as Maestro di Cappella, from 16th June 1723, and then as organist, from 10th April 1762 until his death; but apart from this, biographers seem to have simply passed back and forth what little information they possessed without reference to its source. As such, may aspects of his musical life are still to be determined: his early musical education in Alfianello and Bresica, the subsequent move to Venice and the Basilica of St. Marks, pupil of a Maestro di Cappella, and the exhausting travelling to the courts of Europe where he was very highly acclaimed, together with his "trusty companion, excellent player upon the violin.”

The compositions of this Italian organist were predominantly written in the dramatic vein. Operas dominated his work. Torri served as a master of the chapel for the Margrave of Beyreuth, probably traveled in Italy for about five years, and then found service with Max Emanuel in 1689. During the Wars of Spanish succession the Munich court traveled to many different places in Europe. Torri was usually in the company of Max Emanuel. The court eventually returned to Munich in 1715 and Torri acceded to the position of Hofkapell-Director. It was not until 1732 that he became the Hofkapellmeister. The operas which Torri composed, including "Gli oracolo di Pallade e di Nemesi," "Briseide," and "Amadis aus Griechenland" were in the style of Scarlatti.

In 2019 the music world commemorated the 350th anniversary of the death of MarcAntonio Cesti, the greatest composer of opera comedies and the most gifted melodist of the seventeenth century. Since Cesti lived and worked in Innsbruck for many years, La Dori, his brilliant comedy of disguises and hidden identities, was the perfect choice for posthumous honors »on location.« Ottavio Dantone, who is active from the Milan Scala to the Salzburg Festival with his specialists support in the field of Baroque and Classical opera, conducted his exquisite original sound ensemble, the Accademia Bizantina on the Innsbruck opera stage and set in motion the Dori renaissance. This comedy of loves errors set by the banks of the Euphrates and at the court of Babylon is now available for audio enjoyment on cpo.