Giovanni Mossi

Giovanni Mossi (Rome, c. 1680 – Rome, 1742) was an Italian composer and violinist whose career unfolded almost entirely in the papal capital. Although his date and place of birth are not documented with certainty, the title pages of his first collections describe him as Roman, and the presence in Rome of several musical relatives, such as his father Bartolomeo and his brother Giuseppe, both violists, suggests that it was Bartolomeo who introduced him to the city's musical circles.

His career can be divided into three stages. Until 1715 he worked regularly as an instrumentalist in the private courts of cardinals and princes and in ecclesiastical chapels. Between 1716 and 1733 there was a notable surge in composition: in Amsterdam he published his complete output, consisting of three series of sonatas and three of concertos. From 1733 he abandoned composition and gradually reduced his professional commitments. His only steady post appears to have been as virtuoso at the court of Baldassarre Odescalchi, Duke of Bracciano from 1709, although the duration of that employment cannot be determined and may have been brief, since by 1716 the title page of his Op. 1 no longer mentions him.

His works reflect his standing as a violinist: violin sonatas with basso continuo, some of the da chiesa type and others da camera, and orchestral concertos in three or four movements. He kept the Roman practice of four violin parts, two soloists and two concerto grosso parts, although he gave primacy to the first violin. Op. 4 No. 12 stands out for expanding the orchestra with four obbligato violins.

His name was linked during his lifetime with that of Arcangelo Corelli. The widely repeated claim that he was Corelli's pupil lacks documentary support, although it is certain that the two knew each other and Corellian influence is evident. However, his concertos show personal choices and notable correspondences with the style of Giuseppe Valentini, which places Mossi as an original figure within the Roman school of violin.