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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Classical Fantastica: Antonio Vivaldi
Lounge - Editado por Classical Fantastica Records el 03-02-2017
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Exciting Classical Hits
Clásica - Editado por Classic Records el 26-01-2017
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Training Classical Music
Clásica - Editado por Classic Records el 27-01-2017
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J'ai déjà entendu ça quelque part (Vivaldi)
Clásica - Editado por Music Ware el 17-08-2016
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J'ai déjà entendu ça quelque part
Clásica - Editado por Music Ware el 08-07-2016
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Summer Days Classical Music
Clásica - Editado por Music Ware el 30-06-2016
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Workaholics Classical Music
Clásica - Editado por Music Ware el 07-03-2016
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Extreme Classical Music
Clásica - Editado por Music Ware el 15-02-2016
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Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 315 "L'Estate": II. Adagio - Presto - Adagio
Stradivari Orchestra, Xiaoming Wang, Maja Weber
Clásica - Publicación prevista el 17-05-2024 en Prospero Classical
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Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 315 "L'Estate": I. Allegro non molto - Allegro
Clásica - Editado por Prospero Classical el 03-05-2024
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Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 269 "La Primavera"
Clásica - Editado por Prospero Classical el 26-04-2024
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Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 315 "L'Estate"
Stradivari Orchestra, Xiaoming Wang, Maja Weber
Clásica - Publicación prevista el 31-05-2024 en Prospero Classical
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Hora de Vivaldi
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 19-06-2021
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Antonio Vivaldi Concertos (Studio Recording)
Clásica - Editado por Artemisia el 16-01-1958
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This Is Classical - The Universe's Best Easy Listening Album Of All Time
Clásica - Editado por Unchained Melodíe el 30-11-2005
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Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Renato Fasano, Virtuosi di Roma
Música concertante - Editado por Violet Hill Records el 14-11-2013
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The Best of Vivaldi, Vol. 2 (Remastered)
Varios - Editado por Classic Records Ltd. el 27-04-2018
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Maestros de la musica clasica - Antonio Vivaldi. Las Cuatro Estaciones
Clásica - Editado por Open Records el 30-11-1999
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Autumn (Electronic Version)
Electrónica - Editado por Electro Roma el 22-01-2022
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