The 17th century had witnessed the Italian city of Bologna emerging as one of the country’s most important centers for instrumental music, particularly for stringed instruments, rivaling and often surpassing the great music centers of Venice and Rome. Bologna’s musical life was driven by the Basilica of San Petronio, the innovative Accademia Filarmonica that had been founded in 1666, and a thriving school of composers who defined a great string ensemble sound, notably with the development of the sonata and the early concerto. 
     Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709) was heavily associated with the Bolognese school and the basilica of San Petronio. His Concerti musicali, Op. 6 was published in Augsburg, Germany in 1698, during his tenure at the court of Brandenburg-Ansbach. These twelve concerti were transitional works that lay between the contrapuntal trio sonata of the 17th century and the ritornello-driven concerto, marking them as important. Torelli influenced the composer Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713) by pioneering the structural development of the concerto, particularly through the establishment of the three-movement fast-slow-fast form and the shift toward clearer melodic lines over dense counterpoint.
     While Corelli was active in Rome, his work synthesized Bolognese violin school techniques, including those of Torelli. He revolutionized string music in Rome by establishing the foundational techniques, structures, and stylistic norms for the violin and the concerto grosso. His work defined the Baroque trio sonata and concerto, setting the standard for string writing throughout Europe and influencing future composers like Bach and Handel.