Giuseppe Antonio Rolla (18 April 1798 – 19 March 1837) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

and

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Life and career

Antonio Rolla was born in

Parma, Italy Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, Parma is the second most p ...

, where he studied violin with his father, composer

Alessandro Rolla Alessandro Rolla (; 23 April 175714 September 1841) was an Italian viola and violin virtuoso, composer, conductor and teacher. His son, Antonio Rolla, was also a violin virtuoso and composer. His fame now rests mainly as "teacher of the great ...

. In 1803 the family moved to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

where Rolla began to work at a young age. He became a violinist with the Teatro di

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

in the spring of 1807, but lost the post with the fall of the

Napoleonic Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

in 1814. Having maintained contacts with the town of his birth, Rolla presented a concert at the Teatro Ducale in Parma on 11 June 1818. In a letter written in 1820,

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

praised Rolla's ability after they had played violin duets at the request of his father.Famiglia Rolla al Dizionario della musica di Parma
In 1821, Rolla became the concertmaster of the Teatro Comunale in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

and performed along with his father at the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa r ...

in Milan in 1823. The same year, he accepted the position of concertmaster at the Staatskapelle in Dresden on the recommendation of Paganini. Rolla contracted an illness in 1836 and died the following year in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

at the age of 38. Rolla was highly regarded as an instrumentalist and composed a few works, notably for violin and viola, of which the most famous are the posthumously published ''24 Cadenzas'' for solo violin.

Selected works

* (1816) * (1817) * (1818) * ''12 Valzer'' (12 Waltzes) for string orchestra, Op.1 * for violin and orchestra, Op.3 * for violin and string trio, Op.10 * in F for viola and orchestra, Op.13 (1822) * for violin and string orchestra, Op.15 * for violin and string quintet or string orchestra * for 2 violins and orchestra * for violin and orchestra * for violin and string quartet or orchestra * for viola and orchestra * (6 Idylles) for viola solo (1836–1837) * (Exercises) for violin solo * (Studies) for violin solo * (24 Cadenzas) for violin solo

Sources

Famiglia Rolla al Dizionario della musica di Parma

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolla, Antonio 1798 births 1837 deaths 19th-century Italian classical composers 19th-century classical violinists 19th-century Italian male musicians Composers for violin Musicians from Parma Italian Romantic composers Italian classical violinists Italian classical violists Italian male classical composers Italian male classical violinists 19th-century violists Concertmasters of the Staatskapelle Dresden