Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi

Italian composer and violinist Antonio Vivaldi standardized the concerto (a musical piece with three contrasting movements), which influenced later composers. His The Four Seasons (1725) is one of the first examples of orchestral program music.

(1678-1741), Italian musician, the most influential composer and violinist of his age. A prolific composer, he wrote nearly 500 concertos and established the concerto form for the baroque period. Vivaldi’s best-known concertos are The Four Seasons (1725).

Vivaldi was born in Venice and trained by his father, a violinist at Saint Mark’s Cathedral. Ordained a priest in 1703, Vivaldi began teaching that year at the Ospedale della Pietà, a conservatory that trained musically talented orphaned girls. He remained associated with the Pietà until 1740, at first as a teacher of violin and composition and from 1716 on as music director, although he traveled widely and was often absent. In addition to training the students, he composed concertos and oratorios for weekly concerts, and established an international reputation. From 1713 on, Vivaldi was active as an opera composer and producer in Venice and traveled to Rome, Mantua, and elsewhere to oversee performances of his operas. In 1740 he traveled to Vienna, Austria. He died in poverty in Vienna the following year.

COMPOSITIONS

Vivaldi’s output was enormous. His instrumental works include nearly 500 concertos and more than 70 sonatas written for an astonishing variety of instruments. About half of the concertos are for violin; others were composed for bassoon, cello, oboe, flute, mandolin, and various lesser-known instruments. Some are concerti grossi—compositions for a small group of soloists and a larger orchestral ensemble. A few are ripieno concertos—that is, for a full, though small, orchestra without soloists.

To make his orchestration more interesting, Vivaldi wrote for less common instruments such as the theorbo, a kind of lute, and for unusual combinations of instruments, such as two violins and two organs, lute and violin, or viola d’amore and lute. In a number of works he gave the solo part to instruments traditionally used for accompaniment, such as the bassoon or cello. His sonatas and concertos for cello contributed to the instrument’s growing popularity. He was the first to write for the chalumeau, an ancestor of the clarinet.

Vivaldi’s sense of instruments produced sound color and musical effects of great beauty, as in the slow movement of the Concerto for Four Violins in B minor from Opus 3. He wrote with great brilliance and charm for the flute. The concertos for bassoon demand great virtuosity and fully realize the lyrical powers of the instrument. The opening themes of many of his concertos are bold and striking, but of all his gifts the most enduringly attractive is his lyricism. His slow movements, especially in the violin concertos, are like short operatic arias, with the instrument appearing to sing.

Vivaldi also composed vocal music, both religious and secular (nonreligious). His numerous choral works for churches include masses, psalms, motets, and oratorios. Among his best-known religious compositions are the Gloria in D (1708), the Stabat Mater (1712), and the oratorio Juditha triumphans (1716). His secular vocal music includes cantatas and operas. Vivaldi claimed to have written more than 90 operas but only about 20 have survived, among them Giustino (Justinian, 1724), Orlando furioso (The Mad Roland, 1727), and L’Olimpiade (The Olympiad, 1734). In general the operas take their themes from ancient history and mythology.

INNOVATIONS AND INFLUENCE