Born:
4 March 1678; Venice, Italy
Died:
28 July 1741; Vienna, Austria
Nationality:
Italian
Occupation:
Composer, Violinist, Teacher, Catholic priest
Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian
Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and Catholic priest who was born
on March 4, 1678 and died on July 28, 1741.
Born in Venice, Vivaldi is regarded
as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and during his life his influence has
been widespread across Europe. He composed many concertos for the violins and
other musical instruments, as well as sacred choral works and over forty
operas. His most famous work is a series of violin concertos known as the “Four
Seasons.”
Many of his works were written for
the women's music ensemble of the “Ospedale della Pietà”, a home for abandoned
children. Vivaldi had worked there for a year and a half as a Catholic priest
and was hired there from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. Vivaldi also had
some success with his opera performances in Venice, Mantua and Vienna.
Commemorative plaque beside the Ospedale della Pietà
After
meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna in anticipation of
Emperor’s support, but the Emperor died soon after Vivaldi's arrival. Soon
afterwards, Vivaldi suffered from poverty and died during the night of July 28,
1741 of "internal infection“, in a house owned by the widow of a saddle
maker in Vienna.
Charles VI
Currently, Vivaldi's original
portraits are known to survive as an engraving, an ink sketch and an oil
painting.
Among them, the engraving was created in 1725 by François Morellon de
La Cave, which became later the basis of several copies produced by other
artists. It was made for the first edition of “Il cimento dell'armonia e
dell'inventione”, which is a series of 12 concertos composed by Vivaldi, among
which the first four concertos were known as the famous “Four Seasons”, and
shows Vivaldi holding a sheet of music.
Antonio Vivaldi, François Morellon de La Cave (1725)
The ink sketch, a caricature, was drawn
by Pier Leone Ghezzi in 1723, showing the profile of Vivaldi's head and
shoulders.
Caricature, Pier Leone Ghezzi (1723)
Monument to Antonio Vivaldi, outside the Votivkirche in Vienna
Thank you.
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