A Biography of Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi held a variety of positions throughout his life, including priest, violinist, concert manager, and choir conductor. However, he is best known for his influence and output as a composer during the late Baroque period.

Born in Venice on 4 March 1678, Antonio Vivaldi was always surrounded by music. His father was a professional violin player and the young Vivaldi's training in violin was expected and successful.

in 1703, at 25 years old, Antonio Vivaldi was ordained as a priest, but may never have actually led a mass. There is documented evidence that he claimed a medical excuse for not being able to fulfill the full schedule of masses because of chest complications. While never diagnosed, Vivaldi may have suffered from asthma or angina.

He was transferred to Ospedale della Pietro, an orphanage for girls in Venice, and appointed to the position of maestro di violino - violin master. He remained there as a violin teacher until 1709.

After a two year absence, Vivaldi went to work at the Ospedale della Pietro again in 1711, this time as maestro de concerti - concert master. Here he was responsible for setting up concerts for the students to perform in. He held the post until 1716, and continued to send as many as two concert programs a month to the orphanage after leaving. He would later return as maestro di cappeli, the choir conductor, from 1735 to 1738.

While training for the priesthood, Vivaldi began to gain a reputation as a composer, with his first publication - a trio of sonatas - circulated in 1703. 1709 saw the release of violin sonatas most likely written for the girls at the orphanage. He also published a series of concert programs in 1711, also written for the girls in the orphanage.

These 12 concertos set Vivaldi's reputation as a composer in demand. Musicians from all over Europe sought him out for performance material. Even Bach adapted five of the concertos for his own keyboard inventions.

Vivaldi's form became common practice during his life. His use of ritornello form changed the construction of fast movements in compositions. He also specialized in creating unified thematic material that would be copied by many contemporary and future German composers.

When not playing with the form of the music, Vivaldi enjoyed combining unlike instruments for compositions. He would write pieces for violin and lute where the lute only played in unison with the violin at marked times. Sonic creativity like this opened up new possibilities for composition during the Baroque era.

Vivaldi also composed many vocal pieces for the girls in the orphanage, traditionally in sacred forms. Once again, he played with expectations by taking concerto styles and incorporating them into rigorous mass structures. While he wrote a few skillful operas, the material is considered extremely difficult to perform because of his experimentation and they sadly are rarely performed in contemporary opera productions.

Antonio Vivaldi died in Vienna on 28 July 1741. His musical legacy had already changed the world and his orchestral work still sees performances today.