“Idee” per camera a Violino e Violone o Cembalo. Op. IV, Roma, 1706

The name of Giuseppe Valentini has captured the interest of a few scholars in this century. Andreas Moser believes that his music is comparable to that of Albinoni, while Arnold Schering points out his compositional talent. Nonetheless, no in-depth biography has of yet appeared.
His later life and works are somewhat documented, while the events of his life in general and the circumstances of his death remain obscure.
The principal sources of information are the title pages and prefaces of his printed works, in addition to the payment records for his services as an instrumentalist.
His date of birth can be gleaned from a description that the composer provides of himself in the dedication to his opus 1, the Sinfonie à 3 of 1701. Referring to himself as “fiorentino”, he claims to be “a youth of merely twenty years of age”.
From this dedication, written in Rome and dated 5 January 1701, one may assume that he was born in 1680. It is thus logical to conclude that Valentini was either born in Florence or had adopted the Tuscan capital as his own, as Corelli did Bologna, before departing for Rome upon completion of his musical apprenticeship.