Vivaldi
25 Apr 2008 | by Source Velen | 49 views
Italian composer and violinist, the most influential of his time. He was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice, studied with his father, a violinist in the Cathedral of San Marcos. Ordained in 1703, he was called il prete rosso (the red priest), and began teaching at the Ospedale della Pieta was a conservatory for orphaned girls. He worked there as musical director until 1740, as professor and concerts and oratorios composed for the weekly concerts by those who got international fame. Since 1713, Vivaldi also worked as composer and impresario of opera in Venice and traveled to Rome, Mantua and other cities to monitor the performances of his operas. By 1740 he entered the service of the court of Emperor Charles VI in Vienna. He died in this city on July 28, 1741. Vivaldi wrote more than 500 concerts and 70 sonatas, 45 operas, sacred music and oratorio Juditha triumphans (1716), the Gloria in D (1708), masses and motets. Their instrumental sonatas are more conservative than his concerts and religious music often reflects the operatic style of the time and the alternation of orchestra and soloists who helped introduce the concerts. Johann Sebastian Bach, his contemporary, though somewhat younger, he studied the works of Vivaldi in his formative years and some of the violin concertos and sonatas by Vivaldi transcriptions exist only (mostly for harpsichord) Bach.
Vivaldi's concerts became the model of its kind in Europe and influenced the style of his contemporaries, even the oldest. More than 300 of his concertos are written for solo (220 for violin and bassoon, cello, oboe and flute). He also wrote concerti grossi, 25 for two violins and 32 for three or more instruments and some are of ripieno concerti (for orchestra without soloists). Vivaldi violin virtuoso who astonished the audience with his technique, he established one of the basic features of the concert the following centuries: its use for showcasing the virtuoso. His violin concertos were also instrumental in the development of violin performance in terms of cross-string writing and the development of a new technique for handling the bow. Vivaldi was the first composer who consistently used the refrain, which came to impose on rapid movements of the concert. The ritornello is repeated in different tones and was played by full orchestra. Alternated with episodes played by the soloist, often virtuosic in nature. He established the form of three movements for the concert and was among the first to introduce cadenzas for the soloist. His violin concertos opus 8, The Four Seasons, is one of the earliest examples of program music, like much of his music, is characterized by strong rhythms and strong contrasts. © eMe
[youtube] http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=0htwQ2YDhM8 [/ youtube]
