Biagio Marini
Biagio Marini
(1587 - 1663) was a composer and violinist, born in Brescia,
Italy, but
who worked from 1615 at St Mark's in Venice, as a violinist. He then
worked in various Italian cities, and was an early violin virtuoso.
Unusually for this epoch, he also worked for over 20 years at Neuberg an der
Danau in Germany.
His compositions are all for the violin, some with keyboard, others
accompanied by many assorted instruments. His sonatas for violin and for two
violins are delightful, and represent some of the earliest examples of overtly
soloistic violin music.