Johann Georg Pisendel was a German violinist and composer (1687 – 1755). He studied the violin with Francesco Antonio Pistocchi and Giuseppe Torelli at the court of the Duke of Ansbach. While travelling from 1709 and 1712, he met Johann Sebastian Bach in Weimar (and played with him in the famous Wednesday night concerts at the Cafe Zimmermann in Leipzig), Georg Philipp Telemann in Eisenach and Christoph Graupner in Darmstadt. He later became a close friend of Antonio Vivaldi.
Pisendel is Bach’s most outstanding contemporary virtuoso violinist. Through his knowledge of the violin, his qualities of character and his great pedagogical qualities, he very early acquired the esteem and friendship of many German composers.
After my transcription of J.S. Bach solo violin works, I thought adding Pisendel’s “Sonata a violin senza basso” would be a perfect complement to the HDSB Music Publishing catalogue, making this wonderful and demanding piece available to clarinetists.
Frédéric Matagne