One played like an angel, the other like the devil. Thus the eyewitness account by Jacob Wilhelm Lustig of a legendary musical duel between Leclair and Locatelli at the court of Kassel in 1728. Leclair is said to have had a beautiful tone and a great sense of rhythmic freedom. Locatelli amazed with deliberate scratching and an acrobatic left hand. The "fight" was apparently perceived as a decisive
… battle between the French and Italian styles. In spite of the belligerence, the angel and the devil became friends. Of the two, at least Locatelli was again friends with Vivaldi. That then is the third big name of the program. And so this CD paints a whole network of friendships and common teachers between Vivaldi, Locatelli and Leclair. (HJ)more
