Antonio Vivaldi
1678-1741 Madeleine G.
Vivaldi's Early Life
Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy. He was born into a large family. He had 4 brothers and four sisters. Historians know very little about Vivaldi's early life but they do know when he was 15 he studied to become a priest. He did become a priest at 25 years old. He was referred to as the "red priest" because of his bright red hair. Vivaldi had taken a liking to violin at an early age. He had played violin with his dad, Giovanni Battista Vivaldi, in church sometimes. Vivaldi's only violin teacher was his dad. He grew more and more talented.
Map
This map is of Italy in 1689, only 11 years after the famous composer Antonio Vivaldi was born. Venice, Italy was Vivaldi's hometown. He was born and raised in Venice. When he was 25 years old he worked at the Ospedale della Pieta, the Hospital of Mercy, as a music teacher. He was already so good, his starting salary was double of what his father made. His orchestra was made of orphaned and poor girls who resided at the Pieta. During the Baroque time period, it was scandalous for a girl to perform in public. To fix this, he protected the girls from the orchestra by hiding them behind an iron lattice or curtain. He challenged the norm and succeeded.
Four Seasons ~ Vivaldi
Four Seasons
The Four Seasons is one of Vivaldi's most famous pieces. Each season was inspired by paintings created by artist Marco Ricci. The Four Seasons is broken up into four parts, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each piece has it's a specific and thoughtful tempo and different sounds to remind us of the season. One example is in Spring. Vivaldi uses his instruments to create the sounds of birds chirping. Vivaldi is best known for the Four Seasons but he has composed other music.
More Music
Vivaldi was known for more than the Four Seasons. In fact, by 1715, his musical talent expanded into Opera. Some of his scores included...
-La constanza trionfante
-Farnace
-Gloria e lmeneo
-Agrippo
-Bajazet
and much more.
Vivaldi's Legacy
Vivaldi was well known in the Baroque period. He played for royal families and much more. After he came to Vienna, King Charles VI hired him and then suddenly died of food poisoning. After that, no one would hire him. He then died within the same year 1741. For a a long time, his music was almost forgotten. It was revived in the 1900's and has been performed since. Today, famous works of his such as the Four Seasons have been used as background in advertisements and films such as Pretty Women and Spy Game. His music will forever be remembered and he was one of the greatest composers of all time.
Works Cited
Works Cited
AnAmericanComposer. “Four Seasons-Vivaldi.” Youtube. N.p., 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 2 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRxofEmo3HA>.
Antonio Vivaldi with violin.. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 29 Apr 2016.
<http://quest.eb.com/search/113_907914/1/113_907914/cite>
Biography.com editors. “Antonio Vivaldi Biography.” bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/antonio-vivaldi-9519560#later-life-and-death>.
Map of Italy from de Wit’s Atlas, 1689. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 29 Apr 2016.
<http://quest.eb.com/search/132_1239300/1/132_1239300/cite>