Discusses the Capriccio stravagante by the Italian violin virtuoso Carlo Farina, as court Konzertmeister at the court of Saxony in Dresden. Suggests that the model for the Capriccio may be found in the many collections at the Dresden court and in the early modern strategies of learning, knowing and experiencing the world through the act of collecting. Shows that the Capriccio was not without precedent; other works of music and music theory may also be related to the practices of courtly collecting, and so offer a context for understanding Farina’s work. (Quotes from original text)