Sonata in E minor, Op. 3, No. 3

Giovanni Benedetto Platti was probably born in Venice about 1700; he came to Würzburg in 1722 in the company of a group of Italian musicians. He was resident in Würzburg as a member of the prince-bishop's court chapel until his death in 1763. As a versatile musician (as the period demanded), Platti worte sacred compositions and chamber music works, mainly for harpsichord and violoncello. This series of six flute sonatas provide an exception to the norm, a fact which can also be deduced from the dedication of the pieces. It is addressed to a gentlemen in Cologne – a “Signor Pietro Filippo di Krufft ... della Collegiata di Santo Cuniberto in Colonia”.

The original title of the complete opus, the third sonata of which is published in an new edition in this volume, is: “Sei Sonate/a Flauto Traversiere Solo con Violoncello overo Cembalo/ ... /Composte dà/Giovanni Platti .../.../Opera Terza/Alle Spese di Giovanni Ulrico Haffner .../Nro. VI.” The date of the publication must be 1742. Haffner began printing in this year, and Platti's Op. 1-4 are among the first works published by him.

This new edition is based entirely on a copy in the Bavarian State Library, Munich.