Viotti and the Chinnerys

Denise Yim received her doctorate from the University of Sydney in 2000. Since 1993 she has been engaged in research, cataloguing the two Chinnery collections held at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney and at the University of Sydney Library, and preparing guides to these collections.

'[the book portrays] the status, foibles and emotions of one of music's most influential musicians... It is a scholarly representation with precise footnotes, but the text is not academically overbearing.' Early Music News ’It is to Yim's credit that she has not only woven together a fascinating account of Viotti's life from the puzzle pieces of the Chinnery collection (which are in some areas only partially preserved) but that she has succeeded in bringing Viotti's character and personality to life with imagination and impeccable scholarship. The book charters hitherto unexplored territory with care for and love of detail and adds significantly to the understanding of the history of violin playing. Viotti's admirers (among whom one can count none less than Johannes Brahms) should be particularly grateful for this work.’ Musicology Australia

• Contents: Introduction; Before Paris; Paris, 1782-92; London, 1793; Letters from the Continent, 1793; The Hanover Square concerts, 1794; Letters from Bath, 1794; The opera concert and Chinnery concerts, 1795; Last solo performances and exile, 1796-98; Paris, 1802; Music at Gillwell, 1801-07; Gillwell, London, Oxford, Brighton, 1808-11; At Charles Street, 1812-14; Paris, 1814; The Philharmonic Society, 1813-14; Between London and the Continent, 1815-18; Paris, 1819-20; Paris, 1821; Viotti's final years, 1822-24; After Viotti's death; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.