| Alessandro Rolla | |
|---|---|
 Alessandro Rolla, Milan, c. 1820, on a stipple engraving by Luigi Rados (1773-1840). | |
| Born | 22 April 1757 Pavia |
| Died | 15 September 1841 (aged 84) Milan |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Style | Early Romanticism |
Concertino for viola & strings in E flat major, BI 328
I. Allegro maestoso II. Andante un poco sostenuto III. Polonese: Allegretto
Massimo Paris (viola) & I Musici
Alessandro Rolla (22 April 1757 – 15 September 1841) was an Italian viola and violin virtuoso, composer, conductor and teacher.
Alessandro Rolla is one of those examples of a today neglected musician who nevertheless was widely appreciated in his time as a violin and, especially, viola virtuoso, composer and teacher and whose contribution to technique, repertoire and history of music is greatly underestimated.
Still unknown to the majority of musicians and concert-goers, if remembered, it’s always due to his fame as “teacher of the great Paganini”, yet his role was very important in the development of violin and viola technique. Some of the technical innovations that Paganini later used even more largely, such as left-hand pizzicato, chromatic ascending and descending scales, the use of very high positions on violin and viola, octave passages, were already used extensively by Alessandro Rolla in his compositions. (Viola in music. com)