Vivaldi, Antonio

Vivaldi, << vih VAHL dee, >> Antonio (1678-1741), was an Italian composer. He was one of the most productive composers in the baroque style. This style was marked by regular rhythm and elaborate melody.

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Winter Concerto by Antonio Vivaldi

Vivaldi helped develop the baroque concerto, which influenced the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach and the early symphony composers. Bach admired Vivaldi’s concertos and arranged 10 of these works for the harpsichord and the organ.

Vivaldi was an accomplished violinist. He composed his most important works for the violin. Four violin concertos known as The Four Seasons (1725) are his best-known compositions. They are an important example of program music. Program music tells a story or portrays a landscape. Vivaldi also composed operas, cantatas, oratorios, and solo and trio sonatas. His best-known sacred choral work is the Gloria in D Major (1708).

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Spring by Antonio Vivaldi

Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678, in Venice. He was ordained a priest in 1703 but devoted his life to music. In 1703, he became a violin teacher at the Venetian Ospedale della Pieta, a girls’ orphanage with an excellent chorus and orchestra. He composed many of his works for the orphanage musicians. He wrote concertos for almost every instrument known in Europe at the time. He died on July 28, 1741.