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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Start Your Day With Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 26 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Vivaldi Concerto III
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 17 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Vivaldi Concerto V
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 17 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi for the Mind
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 23 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Vivaldi Concerto I
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 10 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'estro armonico, op. 3
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 23 Sep 2019
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Vivaldi: Flute & Recorder Concertos
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 18 Apr 2021
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The Vivaldi Concerto IV
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 10 Apr 2020
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Autumn
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 31 Mar 2020
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Vivaldi: Chamber Concerto in G Minor, RV 104 (Digitally Remastered)
Collegium Pro Arte, Kurt Redel
Concertos - Released by EMG Classical on 16 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: L'estro Armonico, Op. 3, Concerto No. 6 in A Minor for a Violin and Strings, RV 356 (Digitally Remastered)
Camerata Academica Wurzburg, Hans Reinarzt, Gert Hoelscher
Concertos - Released by EMG Classical on 16 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Cetra 12 Concerti Op. 9
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 28 Oct 2019
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Stay at Home with Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 16 Jan 2021
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Visionary Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 24 Apr 2021
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Daytime Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 21 Jan 2021
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Spring
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 27 Mar 2020
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The Vivaldi Concerto
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 25 Sep 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dine & Wine: Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 19 Sep 2020
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Classics for September: Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 15 Sep 2022
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The Vivaldi Concerto II
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on 14 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Symphony No. 23 in C Major (Digitally Remastered)
Camerata Labacensis, Zagrebački Solisti, Kurt Redel
Symphonic Music - Released by EMG Classical on 16 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo