Friday, November 2, 2007

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)


Antonio Vivaldi (Il Prete Rosso) was an Italian priest and music composer, who was born in Venice, Italy, (March 41678) and died in Vienna, Austria, July 28, 1741. His father, a barber and a talented violinist himself (some have said he was a virtuoso), had helped him in trying a career in music and made him enter the Cappella di San Marco orchestra, where he was an appreciated violinist. In 1703 Vivaldi became a priest, soon nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", probably because of his red hair. In 1704 he was dispensed from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his unhealthy conditions (he suffered of asthma), and became violin teacher at an orphanage for girls called Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. The orphans little after started to gain appreciation and esteem, abroad too; Vivaldi wrote for them most of his concertos, cantate and sacred music. In 1705 the first collcetion (raccolta) of his works was published. Many others will follow. Inside the orphanage he covered several charges, with the only interruption for his many travels, and in 1713 became the responsible for the musical activity of the institute. He was indeed a prolific composer and is most well-known for composing: [This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and uses material adapted in whole or in part from the Wikipedia article on Antonio Vivaldi.]

Sheet music: Antonio Vivaldi

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