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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Beautiful Classicals: Antonio Vivaldi
Classical - Released by Only Between Us Records on Dec 23, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi - Boismortier - Gasparini: Arie e Concerti
Classical - Released by Torculus records on Jan 19, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clásicos - Obras Maestras, Vol. 6
Classical - Released by ISJRDigital on Dec 6, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Violin Concertos
Chamber Orchestra of St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Mikhail Vaiman
Chamber Music - Released by Bomba-Piter on Oct 14, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi for reading
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Jun 6, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: 4 Violins (Remix - Golden Version)
DJ Rasfimillia, Antonio Vivaldi
Classical - Released by Rasfimillia Records on Feb 8, 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Four Seasons (lofi version)
The Remix Station, Beathoven, Antonio Vivaldi
Miscellaneous - Released by The Remix Station on Apr 21, 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Winter - seasons of the year (Remix)
Pop - Released by Na zare F on Feb 15, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
New Beginnings
Miscellaneous - Released by DaCosta Records on Feb 18, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Famous Baroque Music
Classical - Released by JamadaDigital on Dec 16, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You Know (Original Mix)
Miscellaneous - Released by DaCosta Records on Aug 4, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Game E.P (Original Mix)
Techno - Released by Full Tec Recordings on Mar 23, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Concerto In A Minor (Cybercat Remix)
Miscellaneous - Released by Melody Garden Recordings on Aug 16, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Uncharged E.P (Original Mix)
Techno - Released by Full Tec Recordings on Aug 26, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi - The Essential, Vol. 1
Classical - Released by ISTJDigital on Nov 9, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Free Run Classical Music
Classical - Released by Classic Records on Mar 31, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Amazing Violin
Classical - Released by Classic Records on Mar 3, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ultimate Violin Hits
Classical - Released by Classic Records on Feb 1, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Exciting Classical Hits
Classical - Released by Classic Records on Jan 26, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo