A recently rediscovered violin sonata by Antonio Vivaldi will be heard for what may be the first time in 250 years at a concert at the Foundling Museum in London on October 17. The work, now listed as RV 816, is one of a pair of compositions discovered by Vivaldi expert Professor Michael Talbot in a volume of manuscript held in the Gerald Coke Handel Collection at the Foundling Museum. The work’s twin sonata, listed as RV 815, was premiered in Liverpool last year.

The Violin Sonata in D major will be performed by the Amadè Players in the evening of October 17, having received its premiere recording by the ensemble during the day.

‘From their relatively simple technical demands, it appears that the two sonatas were written by Vivaldi for amateurs,’ said Professor Talbot, who is now editing the works for publication in the New Critical Edition of the works of Vivaldi.

Check back on the Gramophone website after October 17 to hear an excerpt from the Vivaldi sonata.