MUSICA, PRATICHE SOCIALI, AFFARI DI FAMIGLIA: IL MARCHESE FILIPPO NICCOLINI E I MEDICI NELLA FIRENZE DEL SEICENTO

• Published in: Il saggiatore musicale 2020-07, Vol.27 (2), p.201-315
• Main Author: D'Ovidio, Antonella
• Format: Article
• Language: Italian
• Subjects: Influenza
• ISSN: 1123-8615

The article examines the musical activities financed by marquis Filippo Niccolini (1586-1666), a leading member of one of the most influential Florentine families and, from 1630, maestro di camera to Giovan Carlo de' Medici, son of Grand Duke Cosimo II. On the basis of the documents found in the family archives, the first part of the article examines Filippo's musical interests in the decades 1640-60, the organization of musical academies in his palaces, the training and protection given to young musici and virtuose, the intense relations with composers active in Rome (Stefano Landi, Girolamo Frescobaldi, and especially Luigi Rossi). The second part focuses on Niccolini as a leading intermediary for Medicean spectacles: he had a key role in selecting singers to be hired for some important productions - a case in point is Antonio Cesti's Orontea - and, more generally, was able to exert a considerable influence on the relationships between the Medici and the musicians at their service, thanks to his musical knowledge and his network of contacts.