Locatelli L'arte Del Violino Carmignola

When considering the first set of compositions designed to truly extend and test the technical limits of the violin, most would first consider the 24 Caprices of Paganini. However, more than a century before Paganini was even thought of, Italian composer Pietro Locatelli was pushing the violin to its limits with his four concertos of Opus 3, subtitled the "Art of the Violin."

This box set collects four individual albums of the early '90s by veteran historical-instrument violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch and the Raglan Baroque Players, each containing three of the 12 violin concertos included here. The box, although not issued in Hyperion's budget Helios series, is offered at a cut-rate price. Locatelli was a pure virtuoso; he was no Vivaldi, and these works had one purpose and one only: to display his nearly unthinkable capabilities on the violin. As such, the entire set may be of more interest to performers and specialists than to general listeners; three CDs of Locatelli are bit much.

"For this Album I choosed three different violins with bows to match have helped to maintain the performance authentic throughout the program."