Born: 1653 in Fusignano, Italy. Died: 1713 in Rome, Italy.
Arcangelo Corelli was one of the foremost
violinists and composers of the
baroque period. It was Corelli who first organized the basic elements of
violin technique.
Corelli is best remembered as the primary developer of the concerto grosso form, built on the principle of contrasting two differently-sized instrumental groups. In Corelli's compositions, the smaller group consists of two violins and a cello, whereas the larger group consists of a string orchestra. It is said that without Corelli's contributions to the concerto grosso form, it would have been impossible for Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach to have created their concerto grosso masterpieces.
Among the famous students of Corelli were Francesco Geminiani (who transcribed Corelli's Opus 5 sonatas as concerti grossi) and Antonio Vivaldi.