Luigi Legnani - Variations for Guitar, Op. 18 (c.1820)

Luigi Rinaldo Legnani (7 November 1790 – 5 August 1877) was an Italian virtuoso guitarist, singer, composer and luthier.

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Variazioni per la Chitarra, Op. 18 (c.1820)
Based on La donna del lago (1819) by Rossini

Giulio Tampalini, guitar

Rossini wrote La Donna del Lago for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples; this was the seventh of nine operas which Rossini wrote for that house between 1815 and 1822. Although the première on 24 September 1819 was not a success, there followed many performances throughout major European venues (as well as being presented in Cuba and by major South American houses) until about 1860, after which the opera disappeared until 1958. In modern times, performances have been given fairly frequently.

Born in Ravenna, Legnani was trained as a string player while very young but dedicated himself to guitar and voice. His debut as an operatic tenor was in Ravenna in 1807; his singing career spanned 17 years. His career as a guitarist began with a concert in Milan in 1819 and continued with the 1822 concerts in Vienna and return visits in 1833 and 1839. He tried to continue the guitar tradition established there by Mauro Giuliani.

Legnani is perhaps best known for his 36 Caprices op. 20 for the guitar, which cover all the major and minor keys, and which were probably inspired by Paganini's 24 Caprices for the violin. He and Paganini were friends from the 1830s; while it was once thought that he and Paganini performed together in public (Powroźniak mentions a concert in Northern Italy in 1837), there is no evidence to support this claim. After the 1850s Legnani retired from active performance and became an instrument maker, concentrating on guitars and violins. The "Legnani model" guitar was popular in Central Europe through the middle of the nineteenth century.

Legnani composed some 250 works, which were published in his lifetime throughout many of the major publishing houses in Europe. He died in Ravenna.

As a regular visitor to Vienna, Legnani cooperated with Johann Georg Stauffer and his son Anton to make guitars according to Legnani's design, to be followed by a number of other luthiers.