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Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born :
Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and one of the most important violinist, born in Venice ,the capital of the Republic of Venice in 1678 and he was baptized immediately after his birth .
Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe. Vivaldi is known mainly for composing instrumental concerts, especially for the violin -
Vivaldi began studying...
In 1693, when he was 15,he began studying to become a priest.
Vivaldi's health was problematic. His symptoms, strettezza di petto ("tightness of the chest"), have been interpreted as a form of asthma.But this didn´t prevent him from learning to play the violin, composing or taking part in musical activities. -
Vivaldi was a priest
He was ordained priest in 1703, when he was 25 .Later he was nicknamed il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", due to his red hair.
After of his ordenation ,in 1704 he was given a reprieve from celebrating the Holy Mass due to his disease. Vivaldi only said mass as a priest a few times. -
Vivaldi at the Pio Ospedale della Pietà
Vivaldi became maestro di violino (master of violin) at an orphanage called the Pio Ospedale della Pietà (Devout Hospital of Mercy) in Venice.
Vivaldi was only 25 when he started working at the Ospedale della Pietà. Over the next thirty years he composed most of his major works while he was working there.
Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà -
Vivaldi wanted...
Vivaldi wanted to give education to children who were abandoned or orphaned.Vivaldi wrote concertos, cantatas and sacred vocal music for them. These sacred works, which number over 60, are varied: they included motets , double chorus, and orchestra. In 1704, the position of teacher of viola all'inglese was added to his duties as violin instructor -
Vivaldi :Opus l
In 1705, the first collection (Connor Cassara) of his works was published by Giuseppe Sala: His Opus 1 is a collection of 12 sonatas for two violins and basso continuo, in a conventional style. -
Vivaldi :Opus 2
In 1709, his Opus 2 ,a second collection of 12 sonatas for violin and basso continuo , appeared. -
Vivaldi in Brescia
In February 1711, Vivaldi and his father travelled to Brescia, he played in a part of a religious festival. In his works: the parts with strings are simple, the music of the first three movements is repeated in the next three parts. But, this work is one of his masterpieces. -
L'estro armonico ,Opus 3
A real breakthrough as a composer came with his first collection of 12 concerts for one, two, and four violins , L'estro armonico ,Opus 3, which was published in Amsterdam in 1711 by Estienne Roger,dedicated to Grand Prince Ferdinand of Tuscany. The prince was a musician, and Vivaldi probably met him in Venice.L'estro armonico was a success all over Europe. -
VIVADI ("Ottone in villa (RV 729)" and "Orlando finto pazzo")
Vivaldi started his profession as an opera composer : his first opera, Ottone in villa (RV 729) wasn´t performed in Venice,it was represented at the "Garzerie Theatre" in Vicenza, in 1713.The next year, Vivaldi became the impresario of the Theatre called " Sant'Angelo" in Venice, where his opera Orlando finto pazzo (RV 727) was performed. -
La stravaganza,Opus 4
La stravaganza ,Opus 4 was published in 1714 ,it was a collection of concerti for violin and strings,It was dedicated to an old violin student of Vivaldi´s , the Venetian noble Vettor Dolfin. -
Vivaldi and two operas ...
In 1716, Vivaldi also wrote and produced two operas, L'incoronazione di Dario (RV 719) and La costanza trionfante degli amori e degli odi (RV 706).With this work he was very popular but this work was represented in Prague in 1732. In the next years, Vivaldi wrote several operas that were very popular in all Italy.But his progressive operatic style caused him some problems with other musician -
Vivaldi :Tito Manlio (RV 738)
In 1717 or 1718, Vivaldi began to work in a new prestigious position as Maestro di Cappella of the court of prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt, governor of Mantua. He was there for three years and he produced several operas, one of this operas is called
Tito Manlio (RV 738). -
Vivaldi in Milan and Rome
In 1721, he was in Milan, where he presented the pastoral drama La Silvia (RV 734) He visited Milan again the next year with the oratorio L'adorazione delli tre re magi al bambino Gesù (RV 645 ) In 1722 he returned to Rome, where he introduced his operas' style. The pope Benedict XIII invited Vivaldi to play for him. -
The four season (Vivaldi)
In 1725, Vivaldi returned to Venice, where he produced four operas in the same year.
Vivaldi wrote "the Four Seasons" four concerts for violin with scenes appropriate for each season. Three of the concerts are original , while the first, "Spring", is based in the first act of his opera "Il Giustino".
The four season is a work very popular in all the world -
Anna Tessieri Giro and Vivaldi
During his life in Mantua, Vivaldi met a young singer called Anna Tessieri Giro . The relationship between Anna and Vivaldi was difficult to explain. But the things indicated something beyond friendship and professional collaboration. Vivaldi's relationship with Anna Giro was questioned, he denied any romantic relationship in a letter to his patron Bentivoglio . -
Vivaldi died:
Antonio Vivaldi died in Vienna.
Vivaldi's music was received during his lifetime very well, he declined in popularity until its vigorous revival in the first half of the 20th century. Today, Vivaldi is one of the most popular Baroque composers and nowdays the people listen to him in all the world
