His Violin Sonatas and Concerti Grossi are still considered today a model of excellence in European instrumental music and his interpretation of "la follia" inspired the soundtrack of Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lindon.
He is Francesco Xaverio Geminiani.

Francesco Xaverio Geminiani was born in Lucca in 1687 and following the family tradition he was initiated into musical studies by his father Giuliano, violinist of the Palatine Chapel of Lucca.

From 1707 to 1710, by now a virtuoso violinist, he played for the Palatine Chapel of Lucca.
In 1711 he was first violin and conductor of the Teatro dell'Opera in Naples and in 1714 he moved to London where, thanks to his fame as a violinist acquired with his brilliant interpretations, he carried out an intense activity as a concert pianist and teacher and dedicated himself to composition, publishing two collections of Sonatas for violin, one for cello, two for harpsichord, three Concerti Grossi and his most famous work, the stage music of "La Foresta incantata".


Inspired by one of the songs of Torquato Tasso's literary opera La Gerusalemme Liberata, La Foresta incantata was published for the first time in Paris in 1754 and recounts the siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade recalling the clash between Count Goffredo di Buglione and the sorcerer Armida.

Not only a great performer and composer, Geminiani has also carried out an important didactic and theoretical activity. His treatise "The art of playing on the violin op.9" can be consulted online at the website of the Luigi Boccherini Study Centre of Lucca www.luigiboccherini.it