Luigi Belloli
The Belloli family of horn players has almost fallen into oblivion. It included Luigi Belloli, born on 2 February 1770 in Castel-Franco near Bologna (other sources give 1 February 1769) and died in Milan in October 1817, his brother Agostino Belloli (1778–1839), Giuseppe Belloli (1775–?), and Luigi's two sons, Giovanni (1794–after 1846) and Giacomo (born 1795). All of them are documented as horn players in various Italian orchestras. Compositions by Luigi, Agostino and Giuseppe Belloli have survived.
Luigi Belloli first played the horn in Parma and moved to La Scala in Milan in 1803 as principal horn. Alongside his orchestral duties, he also taught at the conservatory there until his death in 1817. His brother Agostino succeeded him in his positions.
Luigi Belloli's virtuosity must have been extraordinary, especially considering that he played his surviving concertos on the valveless natural horn. His compositions include horn quartets and other chamber music, several concertos for horn, two concertos for 2 horns and one for 3 horns.
Concerto in E-flat major for 3 Horns (first edition)
This edition is based on the score with the shelf mark (I-Mc) A-36.5.3 from the Biblioteca del Conservatorio di musica Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. It is a very clean copy. The title page bears the following inscription:
Dono del Sign. Maestro Ernesto Beretta / Originale / 10 Fbre 1817 / Milano /
Concerto per Tre / Corni da Caccia di Luigi Belloli
Only a few concertos for 3 horns have come down to us in the musical literature, and fewer still survive. Worth mentioning are a concerto by the Bohemian composer Hanisch, a concerto for 3 horns by Franz Anton Hoffmeister of which only the middle movement has been found so far (published as ROM 35), and the two concertos by Georg Abraham Schneider (ROM 41 and ROM 42).
Striking is the great virtuosity demanded of the horns, which seems to push beyond the limits of the valveless Invention horn then in use. Since Belloli died in 1817, the use of valve horns is ruled out; otherwise, the question would naturally arise with this work. It is reasonable to assume that the concerto was written for, and performed by, the Belloli family.
Listen: Concerto in E-flat major for 3 Horns