Sammartini’s first concerti grossi, those of his Op. 2, are considered to be among the composer’s masterpieces. These intensely inspired pieces, composed with such vigorous spirit, sometimes hardly seem to fit the measured form of the concerto grosso. Sammartini’s themes enjoy a pliant lyricism, at times melancholic, at others passionate and vehement. The contrapuntal development is always masterful, both learned and extraordinarily subtle in nature, taking unexpected and thoroughly expressive turns, often through refined chromaticism and an original use of harmony. The continuous, inexhaustible variety of Sammartini’s thematic invention leaves no room for predictable developments; it constantly introduces new elements, with often truly beautiful results. I Musici, founded in 1951, is the oldest chamber ensemble still active today. Over the years, they have become world-renowned for their promotion of 18th century Italian music, most notably Vivaldi and his Four Seasons, which they first recorded in 1959, and which has sold over 25 million copies in various editions, the last of which was for Dynamic in 2012.

I Musici ensemble musicale was founded after WWII in Rome and for several years it was known as I Musici of Rome. It was an ensemble of young people that, for the first time in the last century, had a modern approach to the baroque music. For that time this approach had an extraordinary value because the musicology did not follow the original practice. Arturo Toscanini was enthusiastic about the interpretations of I Musici. This album contains the best Italian repertoire recordings that the ensemble did for British Columbia and are previously unpublished.

The event of "I Musici" is something extraordinary. It's the oldest (or if you prefer most long-lived) chamber group still active. They opened the way of Italian 18th century music to the whole world. They carried Rome's name, of course Italy's and Italian music to five continents, roving with their repertoire from the 18th to the 21st century.

This new release features the rare and hard to find famous recording of the Brandenburg Concertos in 1963 by I Musici together with the most important soloists of the time. I Musici, also known as I Musici di Roma, is an Italian chamber orchestra from Rome formed in 1951. They are well known for their interpretations of Baroque and other works, particularly Antonio Vivaldi and Tomaso Albinoni. Among their engagements, the original chamber orchestra completed acclaimed tours of Southern Africa 1956, and again in 1967, with a few replacement performers. In the 1970s, I Musici recorded the first classical music video and, later, the group was the first to record a compact disc for the Philips label. One of their founding members and first violin, Felix Ayo, was still an active violinist as of 2017.

• 2014 marks the 250th anniversary of Locatelli’s death • I Musici”, founded 1951, made this very important recording of Locatelli’s Tre Concerti Grossi op. 1 in 1959 • This performance is still considered as one of the best ever realized of this little known masterpieces. • At the end of this CD there are the Vivaldi’s three Concerti, op. 4, recorded 1962

In the corpus of recordings made by I Musici on behalf of Phillips, in the mid-sixties, it still counts the recording of Vivaldi's Op. No. 3 - L'Estro armonico. This is not the case to deepen the artistic element of the famous chamber music ensemble. Suffice it to say that despite the contributions of the executive philology, this traditional recording remains a landmark in the discography of Vivaldi, ever actual for the executive equilibrium, for the solo contributions and for its beauty in general.

Musici: a real legend in the history of classical disco, in Sixties and Seventies of twentieth century of the rediscovery of the great eighteenth century Italian instrumental repertoire that was too long neglected and put in a second plan than one of German-Austrian origin. This release presents one of the greatest classical works of the eighteenth century- the famous Albinoni Adagio in F minor recorded by Musici in 1961 with three incredible violin Concertos by Pletro Antonio Locatelli the most important predecessor of Paganini’s Italian virtuosity.