ABSTRACT
Giovanni Battista Viotti arrived in Paris leaving in his train a reputation that spread from one end of Europe to the other, but whether the French musical public, or even the musicians themselves, knew of his recent successes seems unlikely. The Concert spirituel was a fiercely competitive arena. Different from the London concerts in which Viotti would perform a decade later, the Concert spirituel presented a long succession of vocal and instrumental artists in the same programme, including virtuosos of the same instrument. The criticism regarding the sacrifice of expression to technical virtuosity was one that was commonly levelled against those violinists who used every trick of the trade to impress the audience. Viotti's success at the 1782 Concert spirituel must have set him to work replenishing his repertoire for the 1783 season, when he was even more in demand than the previous year.
