Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695 – 1764) was an Italian violin virtuoso and composer who settled in Amsterdam (Prinsengracht 506) around 1730, where he remained until his death. Besides teaching, composing, and conducting musical ensembles of wealthy Amsterdammers, he traded in strings and worked as a proofreader for a music publisher. (Amsterdam was a major center for music printing around 1700.) He published his own compositions. Locatelli, a pupil of the famous Corelli, was also an avid composer of the Concerto Grosso. His Concerti Grossi are still frequently performed today. He also composed masterful violin concertos, which he collected in L’arte del Violino. None other than the devilish artist, the violinist Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840) based his virtuoso playing on Locatelli's L’arte del Violino (The Art of Violin Playing) from 1733.