![]() He only said Mass as a priest very few times before withdrawing from his priestly duties. Just after his ordination in 1704, Vivaldi was given a dispensation from celebrating Mass because he was sick. At the age of 25, in 1703, he was ordained and nicknamed In 1693, at the age of 15, he went to school to become a priest. However, this did not stop him from learning how to play the violin, composing music, or even taking part in musical activities. Antonio had five siblings.Īntonio experienced health problems when growing up. His official church baptism, however, took place two months later. Many people thought the baptism at such an early age meant that he was either born in bad health or because there was an earthquake that day. He was baptized immediately after he was born by a midwife. Early LifeĪntonio was born on July 28, 1678, in Venice, Italy. Many also know him for his series of violin concerts entitled The Four Seasons. He is mainly known for composing instrumental concerts, sacred choral works, and more than 40 operas. His music and influence was widespread all over Europe. ![]() He was nicknamed “The Red Priest” because of his red hair. The popularity of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” has paradoxically led us to underestimate the Venetian’s true greatness.Antonio Vivaldi was a popular Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist. Once renowned across Europe, by the early twentieth century Vivaldi was considered a minor composer. Then, several events occurred to re-awaken interest in the music of “The Red Priest.” Inevitably, when one hears the name of Antonio Vivaldi, one thinks of his famous set of four violin concertos, The Four Seasons. By one estimate it is the most played piece of classical music in world history. Though it has made Vivaldi famous for at least the last century or so, The Four Seasons has paradoxically led us to underestimate the Venetian’s true greatness. ![]() The first bars of the first concerto in the set, “Spring,” like the openings of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, have been so overplayed that we really cannot hear the music anymore. ![]() Like those pieces, The Four Seasons has become a cliché, a piece of kitsch that we hear in muzak form as we shop at the mall, ride in an elevator, or watch a television commercial. At the same time, it has made Vivaldi a one-hit wonder in the concert-going public’s mind, akin to a Carl Orff (of Carmina Burana fame) or a Samuel Barber (he of the funereal Adagio). The Four Seasons’ fame has also resulted in the pigeon-holing of Vivaldi as a composer of instrumental music, specifically of string concerti. Moreover, a put-down has dogged Vivaldi through the ages, repeated by Igor Stravinsky among other notables: that he did not write 500 concerti but the same concerto 500 times. (The present writer wishes he could utter a rejoinder on Vivaldi’s behalf to Stravinsky himself, expressing his gratitude that the Russian composer did not inflict such a number of his own works upon our ears.) It is true that string concerti comprise the majority of Vivaldi’s output, that a certain uniformity of form, style, and technique governs much of this oeuvre, and that only a fraction stand out to the casual listener as obviously “great” works that can be readily distinguished from the others. ![]()
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