Arcangelo Corelli

Corelli wrote very little — six published opus numbers — and shaped almost everything that came after him in the Baroque. Every violinist meets him early, and the sonatas are among the best material there is for learning the style.

The Op. 5 violin sonatas are the central purchase, and the last of them is the La Folia variations, which almost every student plays eventually. The Op. 6 concerti grossi include the Christmas Concerto. Both are within reach of good amateurs.

Editions differ on one point that matters: Corelli's own ornamented version of the Op. 5 slow movements was published in his lifetime, and some editions print it, some print the plain text, and some print both on facing staves. The last is what you want if you are learning how this music was actually decorated.