Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque period who is known for his instrumental music. He is celebrated above all for the set of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons.

Early Life and Education

Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678. His father was a barber and a violinist at the basilica of Saint Mark.

He was trained for the priesthood and was ordained in 1703. He was known as the red priest because of the colour of his hair.

He studied the violin with his father and became a virtuoso. He was appointed the master of the violin at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice.

The Ospedale della Pietà

The Ospedale della Pietà was an orphanage for the girls. The girls received a musical education and the best of them formed an orchestra and a choir.

Vivaldi composed a large number of the works for the orchestra and the choir. He directed the performances and taught the students.

The concerts of the Pietà were famous throughout Europe. The visitors came to hear the performances of the girls.

He worked at the Pietà for many years and composed the sacred and the secular works for the institution. The position gave him the freedom to experiment.

The Concertos and the Four Seasons

Vivaldi composed more than five hundred concertos for the various instruments. The works established the form of the solo concerto.

The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos that depict the seasons of the year. The concertos are accompanied by the sonnets that describe the scenes.

The music imitates the sounds of the nature, including the birds, the storms, and the frozen landscape. The works are among the most popular of the Baroque music.

He composed the concertos for the recorder, the oboe, the bassoon, and the mandolin. The works show the range of his invention and his interest in the timbre.

The Later Years and the Legacy

Vivaldi travelled to Rome, Mantua, and Vienna. He composed the operas for the theatres of the cities.

He died in 1741 in Vienna in the poverty. He was buried in a simple grave and his music was largely forgotten after his death.

The revival of the interest in his music began in the twentieth century. The discovery of his manuscripts led to the performance of many of his unknown works.

He is now regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period. The Four Seasons is one of the most recorded and the most performed works of the classical repertoire.

The Concertos

Vivaldi composed more than five hundred concertos. The works established the form of the solo concerto.

The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos. The works depict the seasons of the year and are accompanied by the sonnets.

He composed the concertos for the recorder, the oboe, the bassoon, and the mandolin. The works show the range of his invention.

The Ospedale and the Sacred Music

Vivaldi worked at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. He composed the works for the orchestra and the choir of the girls.

He composed the sacred works, including the Gloria and the Magnificat. The works are the masterpieces of the sacred music of the period.

He travelled to Rome, Mantua, and Vienna. He composed the operas for the theatres of the cities.

The Honours and the Memory

Vivaldi died in Vienna in 1741 and was buried in a simple grave. His music was largely forgotten after his death.

The revival of the interest in his music began in the twentieth century. The discovery of his manuscripts led to the performance of many of his unknown works.

He is now regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period. The Four Seasons is one of the most recorded and the most performed works of the classical repertoire.

The Style and the Influence

Vivaldi developed the form of the solo concerto and the use of the ritornello. The technique became a model for the later composers.

He used the programme music in the Four Seasons. The music imitates the sounds of the nature and the scenes of the seasons.

He influenced the development of the music of Bach and the other composers. Bach transcribed several of his concertos for the keyboard.

The Personal Life

Vivaldi was ordained as a priest in 1703. He was known as the red priest because of the colour of his hair.

He claimed to have stopped saying the mass because of the illness. He devoted himself to the music for the rest of his life.

He travelled widely in Europe and composed the operas for the theatres of Venice, Mantua, and Rome. He was a prolific composer and the catalogue of his works runs to many hundreds of the compositions.

He died in 1741 in Vienna in the poverty and was buried in a simple grave. His music was largely forgotten after his death and was revived only in the twentieth century.

See also

• Baroque music
• Concerto
• The Four Seasons
• Venice