A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Veracini, Antonio
VERACINI, Antonio, a violinist and composer who lived during the second half of the 17th century at Florence. According to Fétis he published three sets of sonatas. His nephew and pupil,
Francesco Maria Veracini, a celebrated violinist and composer, was born at Florence about 1685, and was known as 'Il Florentine.' He appears to have settled early at Venice, where Tartini was so much impressed by his style as to leave Venice without appearing in public, and retire to Ancona for further study after the model of Veracini. [Tartini.] He visited England for the first time in 1714, acting as leader of the Italian Opera band, and appearing as soloist between the acts. He was then 'regarded as the greatest violinist in Europe' (Burney, Hist. iv. 640). In 1720 he accepted an appointment as solo-player to the Elector of Saxony at Dresden. There he threw himself out of a high window, and in consequence was lamed for life. According to one version he did this in a fit of insanity; but another report goes to the effect that Pisendel, the leading German musician at Dresden, in order to prepare a humiliation to Veracini, who by his conceit and arrogance had incurred the hostility of the Germans, asked him to play a concerto at sight before the Court, and afterwards made a violinist of the orchestra repeat the piece. As the latter had carefully prepared his music, the audience, to Veracini's mortification, gave the preference to his performance and applauded him greatly. Be this as it may, Veracini left Dresden for Prague (1723) and Italy. In 1735 we find him again in London, where he achieved a signal success as a composer. His opera 'Adriano' was performed 17 times during the winter of 1735–36, an enormous run in those days. As a violinist Geminiani, then a rising star, appears to have impaired his success. He is reported to have died in reduced circumstances at Pisa in 1750.
Veracini's general success in Italy, England and Germany, and the special testimony of Tartini, are sufficient proofs of his eminence as a player. At the same time, his compositions, though few of them have been published, show him to have been a musician of remarkable originality and solid attainments. His style is much more modern than that of Corelli and even of Tartini. The pathetic element so predominant in the works of these masters, although not entirely absent in his works, is yet much less prominent than vivacity, grace, and piquancy. His forms are sometimes very extended, his modulations and harmonies not only rich and varied, but often so unusual and bold that it is not surprising to find that 'his compositions were too wild and flighty for the taste of the English at that time' (Burney).
He published two sets of 12 sonatas each (Dresden and Amsterdam, 1721; London and Florence, 1744). For London he composed the operas 'Adriano,' 1735; 'Roselinda,' 1744; 'L'Errore di Salomone,' 1744. A number of concertos, sonatas, and symphonies for 2 violins, viola, violoncello and basso have remained in manuscript, and some of them are in the public libraries of Florence and Bologna. Some of his sonatas have been edited by Ferd. David (Breitkopf & Härtel) and von Wasielewski (Senff, Simrock), and have been played by Joachim and others.[ P. D. ]