Music

Antonio Vivaldi

1678–1741 · Italian

Baroque

Vivaldi was a Venetian violinist, priest and composer who taught for decades at the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage famed for its all-female orchestra. He wrote hundreds of concertos that fixed the fast–slow–fast ritornello form, influencing Bach, and The Four Seasons is among the most recorded works in classical music.

How to spot them

▸Bright, driving string writing: energetic repeated rhythms, a returning orchestral ritornello and virtuoso solo violin episodes
▸Birdsong trills and a sunny E-major tune signal 'Spring'; chattering teeth and icy repeated notes signal 'Winter'
▸Quiz clues: 'the Red Priest', Venice, Ospedale della Pietà, concertos with sonnets, died in poverty in Vienna

Key works — listen

The Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni), Op. 8 Nos. 1–4, RV 269, 315, 293, 297 (1725)

Four violin concertos with descriptive sonnets, published in Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione

Recording: Antonio Vivaldi · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

'Winter' (L'inverno), Concerto in F minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 (1725)

The last of The Four Seasons: shivering tremolo, stamping feet and a serene Largo of rain outside

Recording: Music by Antonio Vivaldi published in 1725; Recording copyright John Harrison ( JohnHarrisonViolin.com ) · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Gloria in D major, RV 589 (c. 1715)

His best-known sacred choral work, opening with octave-leaping festive strings

L'estro armonico, Op. 3 (1711)

Set of twelve concertos published in Amsterdam; Bach transcribed several for keyboard

Juditha triumphans, RV 644 (1716)

Military oratorio written for the Pietà, celebrating Venice's victory over the Ottomans

Quick-fire facts

•Vivaldi was nicknamed 'Il Prete Rosso' ('The Red Priest') because of his red hair; he was ordained in 1703.
•He worked on and off from 1703 at the Ospedale della Pietà, a Venetian foundling home whose girls formed a celebrated orchestra.
•The Four Seasons are the first four of the twelve concertos in Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione ('The Contest between Harmony and Invention'), Op. 8, published in Amsterdam in 1725.
•Spring is RV 269 in E major, Summer RV 315 in G minor, Autumn RV 293 in F major and Winter RV 297 in F minor.
•RV stands for Ryom-Verzeichnis, the catalogue compiled by Peter Ryom.
•Vivaldi died in poverty in Vienna in 1741, and his music was largely forgotten until the 20th-century revival.
•J. S. Bach arranged several Vivaldi concertos, including ones from L'estro armonico, for keyboard and organ.

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Sources

Encyclopaedia Britannica — Antonio Vivaldi
Michael Talbot — Vivaldi