Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764) was born in Lyon, the son of an amateur musician. He quickly developed his skills on the violin and became a traveling virtuoso, performing in France, Germany and Italy, thus also becoming acquainted with the great violin virtuosos of his time: Locatelli, Quantz and Corelli’s circle. He introduced in France a violin school based on his famous Italian examples, but with a strong personal style. This new recording presents Leclair’s complete Violin Concertos. The high technical and musical level earned him the nickname “The Corelli of France”. The solo violin passages are written with a keen eye to violin technique: arpeggios, double and triple stops, bariolages, leaps and virtuoso passages lend colour, breadth and variety. Russian violinist Igor Ruhadze was trained in his native Moscow as a virtuoso on the modern violin. However, his interest took him into early music, playing with such ensembles as Musica ad Rhenum, Jed Wentz and others. His solid technique enables him to tackle the often fearful difficulties of Leclair’s music with ease, charm and brilliance. His ensemble Violini Capricciosi on original instruments, and follow the Historically Informed Performance Practice.