Viotti and the Chinnerys ― A Relationship Charted Through Letters

Italian violinist and composer Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824) met Wiliam and Margaret Chinnery, a wealthy English couple with strong connections in the arts and letters community, moved into their house, became a second father to their children, formed a menage a trois, and tailored the rest of his career with their welfare in mind. Yim (U. of Sydney) draws on the family papers, among which are hundreds of Viotti letters and other documents, to cast new light on his life and career, on the context in which he lived and worked, the reception of his work in England, his role as a music teacher in the Chinnery household, and his relationship with Madame de Stael and the Philharmonic Society. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Denise Yim received her doctorate from the University of Sydney in 2000. Since 1993 she has been engaged in research, cataloguing the two Chinnery collections held at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney and at the University of Sydney Library, and preparing guides to these collections.