Italian composer and violinist; one of the earliest violin virtuosos -- at the courts of Dresden and Köln in the 1620s, and later in Italy--who made many advances in violin technique. These new developments can be seen in his five volumes of sonatas and other pieces a 2 - 5; his Capriccio stravagante contains probably the first examples of instructions to play pizzicato and col legno, and of the use of harmonics.