Michelangelo Rossi

Full biography Michelangelo Rossi

Michelangelo Rossi was an Italian composer, keyboard player, and violinist born around 1602 in Genoa, Italy. He left his hometown to pursue a professional career in music , and he was hailed in his lifetime as a violin virtuoso and a distinguished composer. Rossi received training from the renowned composer and keyboard player Girolamo Frescobaldi.

Rossi's most well-known composition is his 1657 book of toccatas, which features highly virtuosic and ornamental keyboard writing. He also composed two books of madrigals in the 1620s and two operas. Rossi was well-regarded in his time for his compositions, and he was praised for his diligent fantasy in his keyboard writing.

Rossi's style is characterized by periods of strict and well-developed imitative writing as well as highly ornamental and virtuosic passages. His compositions show influences from the works of Girolamo Frescobaldi and Johann Jakob Froberger.

Rossi's works have been performed and recorded by various ensembles, including the Tesserae Baroque Ensemble and the Lorenzo Feder Toccate e Corrente recording. He remains an important figure in the history of Italian Baroque music and keyboard composition.