Antonio Vivaldi
The creator of hundreds of spirited, extroverted instrumental works, Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi is widely recognized as the master of the Baroque instrumental concerto, which he perfected and popularized more than any of his contemporaries. Vivaldi's kinetic rhythms, fluid melodies, bright instrumental effects, and extensions of instrumental technique make his some of the most enjoyable of Baroque music. He was highly influential among his contemporaries and successors: even as esteemed a figure as Johann Sebastian Bach adapted some of Vivaldi's music. Vivaldi's variable textures and dramatic effects initiated the shift toward what became the Classical style; a deeper understanding of his music begins with the realization that, compared with Bach and even Handel, he was Baroque music's arch progressive. Though not as familiar as his concerti, Vivaldi's stage and choral music is still of value; his sometimes bouncy, sometimes lyrical Gloria in D major (1708) has remained a perennial favorite. His operas were widely performed in his own time.
Details regarding Vivaldi's early life are few. His father was a violinist in the Cathedral of Venice's orchestra and probably Antonio's first teacher. There is much speculation about other teachers, such as Corelli, but no evidence to support this. Vivaldi studied for the priesthood as a young man and was ordained in 1703. He was known for much of his career as "il prete rosso" (the red-haired priest), but soon after his ordination he declined to take on his ecclesiastical duties. Later in life he cited ill health as the reason, but other motivations have been proposed; perhaps Vivaldi simply wanted to explore new opportunities as a composer. It didn't take him long. Landing a job as a violin teacher at a girls' orphanage in Venice (where he would work in one capacity or another during several stretches of his life), he published a set of trio sonatas and another of violin sonatas. Word of his abilities spread throughout Europe, and in 1711 an Amsterdam publisher brought out a set of Vivaldi's concertos for one or more violins with orchestra under the title L'estro armonico (Harmonic Inspiration). These were best-sellers (it was this group of concertos that spurred Bach's transcriptions), and Vivaldi followed them up with several more equally successful concerto sets. Perhaps the most prolific of all the great European composers, he once boasted that he could compose a concerto faster than a copyist could ready the individual parts for the players in the orchestra. He began to compose operas, worked from 1718 to 1720 in the court of the German principality of Hessen-Darmstadt, and traveled in Austria and perhaps Bohemia. Throughout his career, he had his choice of commissions from nobility and the highest members of society, the ability to use the best performers, and enough business savvy to try to control the publication of his works, although due to his popularity, many were published without his consent. Later in life Vivaldi was plagued by rumors of a sexual liaison with one of his vocal students, and he was censured by ecclesiastical authorities. His Italian career on the rocks, he headed for Vienna. He died there and was buried as a pauper in 1741, although at the height of his career his publications had earned a comfortable living.
© Rovi Staff /TiVo
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Vivaldi for the Home
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 24 de jan. de 2021
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Ton Koopman - A Portrait
Antonio Vivaldi, Ton Koopman, Arcangelo Corelli
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 2 de set. de 2020
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Beautiful Vivaldi
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 11 de out. de 2020
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Vivaldi: Arie d'opera
Sandrine Piau, Paul Agnew, Antonio Vivaldi
Classical - Lançado por naïve em 14 de jun. de 2005
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The Vivaldi Album
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 24 de ago. de 2020
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Baroque for Autumn
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 23 de set. de 2023
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Nathan Milstein Plays Vivaldi, Corelli and Tartini
Chamber Music - Lançado por RHI em 15 de abr. de 2014
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Vivaldi: Concerti Op. 8 Nos. 1-4 "Le Quattro Stagioni"
Rudolf Baumgartner, Festival Strings Lucerne, Antonio Vivaldi
Classical - Lançado por Denon em 27 de ago. de 1993
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Baroque Violin Concertos
Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Giuseppe Tartini
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 5 de mar. de 2021
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A Night of Classical: Baroque
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 29 de dez. de 2023
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Relaxing 2021
Claude Debussy, Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 2 de jan. de 2021
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The Four Seasons
Classical - Lançado por Blue Pie Records em 10 de ago. de 2016
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Genios VIVALDI (Las Cuatro Estaciones)
Miscellaneous - Lançado por Makondo Entretenimiento em 25 de mai. de 2020
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Vivaldi: Instrumental Works
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 1 de dez. de 2023
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Meditative Vivaldi
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 15 de mai. de 2021
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Vivaldi Winter Nights
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 30 de nov. de 2020
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Les Quatre Saisons
Classical - Lançado por Claves Records em 1 de jan. de 2003
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Café Classics: Jazz Classical Infusions
Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Jacques Loussier
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 22 de abr. de 2024
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Concertos pour flûte à bec
Classical - Lançado por Claves Records em 1 de jan. de 2000
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Las Cuatro Estaciones
Classical - Lançado por Syrinx em 20 de abr. de 2019
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