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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The Vivaldi Concerto I
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on Apr 10, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'estro armonico, op. 3
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on Sep 23, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Vivaldi Concerto IV
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on Apr 10, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Autumn
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on Mar 31, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Chamber Concerto in G Minor, RV 104 (Digitally Remastered)
Collegium Pro Arte, Kurt Redel
Concertos - Released by EMG Classical on Oct 16, 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 Oct 16, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Cetra 12 Concerti Op. 9
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on Oct 28, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay at Home with Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Jan 16, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Visionary Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Apr 24, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Daytime Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Jan 21, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Spring
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on Mar 27, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Vivaldi Concerto
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on Sep 25, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dine & Wine: Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Sep 19, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classics for September: Vivaldi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Sep 15, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Vivaldi Concerto II
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on Apr 14, 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 Oct 16, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mandolin and Strings, Rv425
Classical - Released by Audiofonic Records on Sep 25, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: L'estro Armonico, Op. 3, Concerto No. 11 in D Minor for Two Violins, Cello and Strings, RV 565 (Digitally Remastered)
Camerata Academica Wurzburg, Hans Reinarzt
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on Oct 16, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Chamber Concerto in D Major, RV 93 (Digitally Remastered)
Slovak Chamber Orchestra, Bohdan Warchal, Jozef Zsapka
Chamber Music - Released by EMG Classical on Oct 16, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Recorder Concerto in C Major, RV 444 (Digitally Remastered)
Munich Chamber Orchestra, Hans Stadlmair
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on Aug 28, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Los Conciertos. Música Clásica por: L’emsemble instrumentale de France
Concertos - Released by Classical Records Gold on Oct 7, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo