Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713)

Today’s concert explores plagiarism, piracy and, not to put too fine a point on it, the generally fraudulent behaviour of music publishers, their agents, and some composers. One thing all the works we hear this evening have in common is that they are based on, or are surrounded by, falsehoods. In the world of music, however, such behaviour, far from being regarded as reprehensible, has been welcomed, often encouraged.