(all from The Four Seasons)
Spring - 1. Allegro
Summer - 3. Presto
Autumn - 3. Allegro
Winter - 3. Allegro
Antonio Vivaldi was a prolific Italian composer, violinist and conductor. He was widely known during his lifetime by the nickname The Red Priest (Il Prete Rosso), owing to his flaming hair color.
Early Life of Vivaldi
Vivaldi was born in Venice, Italy, on March 4, 1678, the eldest son of a professional violinist. Antonio was the only one among six children to follow in their father’s musical footsteps. His father, Giovanni Battista, was originally a baker but he eventually gave up this family trade to become a musician, finding employ at St. Mark's church as a violinist.
Aged 15, Vivaldi began training for the priesthood and was ordained in 1703. At this same time he was developing his own skills on the violin. He received an appointment as the Maesto di Violino at the Pio Ospedale della Pita, an orphanage for girls in Venice, where music played an integral part in the curriculum. With Vivaldi in charge, the regular concerts given by the orchestra of the hospice were extremely popular.
Career Change: Priesthood to Musician
Soon after his ordination, in 1705, Vivaldi ceased to say Mass - claiming health reasons - and was permitted to stay at home. He suffered from chest complaints, possibly asthma or angina. This decision was to cause him problems later on when, in 1737, a production of one of his operas was banned by conservative religious authorities, who were disturbed that the composer was a non-practicing priest, and also alleged that he had had an illicit relationship with one of the cast's female singers.
With the publication of Harmonic inspiration (1711), a collection of concertos for violins, Vivaldi firmly established a reputation as a virtuoso violinist. In 1713, his first opera, Ottone in villa, was performed in Vicenza.
Music Teacher and Composer
Vivaldi spent much of his church career teaching at a girls’ orphanage. He composed both for them and for himself. He was notorious for his careless spending and large ego. Because he was a nonconformist, he usually got into trouble and was a target of criticism, something he was extremely sensitive about.
European Tour and Final Years
He toured Europe between 1729 and 1733, and returned to Venice in 1739. In 1741, he travelled to Vienna, hoping to receive a court appointment. He died there on July 28 of that same year. After his death, there was a decline in popularity of Vivaldi's work but this was reawakened through the 19th century research of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach transcribed a number of Vivaldi's concertos and keyboard works, and did much to promote and preserve Vivaldi's work.
Works by Vivaldi
Works by Vivaldi include some 20 Symphonies, 75 Sonatas, 400 Concertos - including the enormously popular Le Quattro Stagione (The Four Seasons, 1725) for violin and orchestra, 40 Operas, and sacred music.
Vivaldi had a profound impact on the development of the concerto form, and greatly influenced 18th century music. He is best known today for The Four Seasons, a group of concertos for which he also wrote accompanying poems celebrating each season.
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