The Belloli family of horn players is largely forgotten today. It included Luigi Belloli, born in 1770 (other sources give 1 February 1769) and died in 1817; his brother Agostino Belloli (1778–1839); Giuseppe Belloli (1775–?); and Luigi Belloli’s two sons, Giovanni (1794 – after 1846) and Giacomo (b. 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 horn in Parma and, in 1803, became principal horn at La Scala in Milan, where—alongside his orchestral duties—he also taught at the Conservatory until his death in 1817. His brother Agostino succeeded him in these positions.
1st & 2nd Horn Quartet + Piccolo Quartetto
The Robert Ostermeyer Music Edition thanks the library of the Conservatorio di Milano, the owner of the manuscripts, for granting permission to publish this work as a first edition. For the first time, alongside Belloli’s études for horn, the quartets for four horns are presented here as well. The repertoire for four horns is actually very extensive, yet genuinely original compositions from the early 19th century are missing—pieces that were probably still performed on natural horns. These highly virtuosic quartets have long been traded as an insider tip among horn players, often without naming the source. The quality of these quartets speaks for itself through a note on the first horn part of the 2nd Quartet: “buonissimo!!”
Both quartets, together with the Piccolo Quartetto, are published in a single volume in score and parts.
Quartet No. 1, 2nd movement (Adagio) & 3rd movement (Minuetto e Trio)
