University of York Baroque Ensemble

In the early eighteenth century, London was under the spell of Italian music thanks to sonatas and concerti grossi by Arcangelo Corelli. A feverish demand by music lovers and enthusiastic learners led many Italian virtuosos to move to the city, where they found fertile ground for their activities. The most prominent figure was Francesco Geminiani, a violinist- composer whose treatises later became indispensable to understanding performance practice of the period. University Baroque Ensemble presents the concerti grossi of the master and his pupil, Avison from Newcastle, as well as a concerto with winds by Handel, one of the most influential immigrants to the city.