Antonio Lucio Vivaldi is an Italian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. A recognized genius in the field of music, he lived during the Baroque era. He was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice; the date of death of the composer was July 28, 1741.
The best known today are his operas and magnificent instrumental violin concertos. The best of them is rightfully considered the work “The Seasons”. Vivaldi is called the inspiration of Johann Bach.
Childhood and youth
There have been numerous discussions among scientists about the date of birth of the musician. Some suggested that he was born in 1675, and there were other versions. But in January 1963, Eric Paul discovered a record of the church parish, thanks to which it was possible to reconstruct the chain of events. It became known that Antonio was baptized on his birthday in St. John's Cathedral. The boy was very weak, his parents were worried that he might die immediately after birth.
Vivaldi's father was a violinist, and it was he who taught his son music from childhood. He also involved the boy in work in the chapel, where he himself worked. From the age of ten, the future composer helped his father; after his death, Antonio headed the chapel.
Even in his youth, he decided to become a priest, but he was unable to combine ministry with music. There are rumors that the composer once left his post during prayer because he urgently wanted to write down the idea for a fugue. Other sources state that Vivaldi left the cathedral due to poor health.
On September 1, 1703, Antonio became a violin teacher at the Venetian Conservatory. His students had the opportunity to play not only sacred, but also ordinary, secular music. For them, Vivaldi wrote a huge number of different works and already in 1704 he also became a viola teacher. After 12 years of service, the composer is appointed head of the educational institution.
Composer's activity
In 1710, the musician gradually began to gain fame. In the "Guide to Venice" he is called a virtuoso violinist. Everyone who was lucky enough to hear the genius’s works live talks about him outside of Italy. Vivaldi was introduced to the Danish king Frederick IV, who subsequently dedicated twelve sonatas to the ruler.
After some time, Antonio decides to raise the bar by writing operas. In 1713 his works “Roland Pretending to be Mad” and “Ottone at the Villa” were published. They brought him fame and recognition; over the next five years, eight more operas were released. The Italian composer Bendetto Marcello was one of the critics of Vivaldi's work. He published a pamphlet in which he ridiculed the musician's operas. Because of this, Antonio stopped working on major works for some time.
In 1717, the governor of Mantua invited the virtuoso to take the position of bandmaster at court. It was in this magnificent town that Vivaldi conceived the idea of a series of concerts, originally called “The Four Seasons”. Little is known about this period of his life; in total, the composer was in Mantua for three years, then he returned to Venice.
While working in Mantua, Antonio met opera singer Anna Giraud. She had a sister, Paolina, and the girls accompanied the composer everywhere. Various rumors circulated around the city, but Vivaldi assured that they were just his students. Paolina and Anna lived in the same house with the musician, helping him in every possible way to fight asthma. Because of this, in 1738 Vivaldi was banned from entering Florence because he was accused of the Fall. But the composer denied these rumors until the very end.
In 1723, Antonio came to Rome for the first time, where he staged the opera Hercules on Thermodon. His work impresses the residents of the city. Johann Quantz, a music theorist, reported that the Romans could not perceive other music for six months after listening to the opera.
Recent years
In mid-May 1740, the composer left Venice and went to Emperor Charles VI. At that time, war began in Vienna, the emperor died shortly after Vivaldi’s arrival, and the heirs entered into a lively struggle. Because of this, Antonio had to leave the Austrian city, moving to Dresden. Most likely, it was there that the disease overtook him.
The musician had practically no money, no loved ones, and his health problems were becoming more serious every day. He returned to Vienna. It was there that Vivaldi died on July 28, 1741. According to doctors, death occurred due to internal inflammation. He was buried in the pauper cemetery. A month later, sisters Margarita and Zanetta received notice of the composer’s death, and the bailiffs described all his property to pay off the debt.
Amazingly, the work of the talented musician was unfairly forgotten for almost 200 years. It was not until the 1920s that the Italian musicologist Gentili came across the composer's recordings. Nineteen operas, more than 300 violin concertos and other works were discovered in the manuscripts. Vivaldi's authorship is officially confirmed for only 40 operas, although it is known that he wrote more than 90 major works during his life.
Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678, in Venice. His first lessons in playing the violin were given to him by his father. Antonio was such a capable student that at the age of 11 he could replace his mentor in the chapel of St. Mark's Cathedral.
From his early youth, having decided to devote his life to music, Anthony at the same time wanted to be a clergyman. He was ordained in 1704.
Unfortunately, Vivaldi's health was so poor that he was unable to celebrate the entire Mass. Therefore, he was given some relief. Soon Vivaldi left his duties as a priest, but did not relinquish his priesthood.
The beginning of a creative journey
In 1709, Vivaldi was presented to the monarch of Denmark, Frederick IV. The composer dedicated 12 sonatas written for violin to him.
In 1712, Vivaldi met with the German composer, G. Stötzl.
Composer's activities
Vivaldi began as an opera composer. In 1713 he created the 3-act work “Ottone at the Villa”. A year later, a new opera was created, “The Imaginary Madman.” It was based on the poem by L. Ariosto, “Roland the Furious.”
Around this time, the composer's talent was recognized both by his colleagues and music critics, and opera fans. Vivaldi began to have more and more students. He devoted his free time from teaching to composing new musical works. The composer also actively collaborated with the theater, from where he regularly received large number orders.
Over time, the musician's name became known outside of Venice. In 1718, his opera “Skanderberg” was staged in Florence.
In the same year, the composer accepted the invitation of Prince F. Hesse-Darmstadt and, moving to Mantua, became bandmaster at his court.
There the musician met A. Giraud. She became a student of the great composer, and the latter played a significant role in her development as opera singer.
When studying the biography of A. Vivaldi, you should know the most important thing. In 1725, a series of his works was published entitled “The Art of Harmony and Invention.” It included the “Seasons” concerts. The creativity of this period is filled with drama. Many works contain solemn and gloomy notes.
Vivaldi made his greatest contribution to the development of the orchestral ensemble concert.
Illness and death
Like many composers, Vivaldi was often in dire need of money. In 1740 he arrived in Vienna to stage his operas. But due to the worsening political crisis, the musician was forced to leave for Saxony.
The composer suffered from bronchial asthma since childhood, and this forced move adversely affected his health.
A year later he returned to Austria, but the public soon forgot their recent favorite. In July 1741 great composer passed away. He was buried in a cemetery for the poor.
Other biography options
- Vivaldi was born at seven months old. According to some reports, the newborn was so frail and sickly that he was immediately baptized.
- Vivaldi never married. But because of his warm relationship with A. Giraud, which still remained platonic, the composer was more than once criticized by high-ranking clergy.
Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy. Italian composer and violinist who left a decisive mark on the concerto form and the style of late Baroque instrumental music.
Vivaldi's main teacher was probably his father Giovanni Battista, who in 1685 was training for the priesthood. His distinctive reddish hair later earned him the nickname Il Prete Rosso ("The Red Priest"). He made his first known public appearance, playing alongside his father in the basilica as a "supernumerary" violinist in 1696. He became an excellent violinist, and in 1703 he was appointed master of the violin at the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for foundlings. Pieta, specializing in music training their female wards, and those who with musical ability, were credited with their fine choir and orchestra, whose repeated performances aided the organization's search for donations and bequests.
Shortly after his ordination as a priest, Vivaldi abandoned the celebration of Mass due to a chronic illness believed to be bronchial asthma. Despite this circumstance, he took his secular priest seriously and even earned a reputation as a religious fanatic.
The earliest musical compositions Vivaldi dates back to his first years in Pietà. Printed collections of his trio sonatas and violin sonatas respectively appeared in 1705 and 1709, and in 1711 his first and most influential set of violin concertos and string orchestra(Opus 3, L "estro armonico) was published by the Amsterdam publishing firm Estein Roger. In the years before 1719, Roger published three more collections of his concertos and one collection of sonatas.
Vivaldi achieved great success his sacred vocal music, for which he later received commissions from other institutions. Another new area of his activity opened up in 1713, when his first opera, Ottone at the Villa, was produced in Vicenza. Returning to Venice, Vivaldi immediately plunged into operatic activities in the role of twin composer and impresario. From 1718 to 1720 he worked in Mantua as director of secular music for the governor of that city.
The 1720s were the zenith of Vivaldi's career. Based once again in Venice, but often traveling elsewhere, he served instrumental music to patrons and clients throughout Europe. During this decade he also received numerous commissions for operas and resumed his activities as an impresario in Venice and other Italian cities.
During the 1730s, Vivaldi's career gradually declined. The French traveler Charles de Broses reported in 1739 with regret that his music was no longer fashionable. Vivaldi's impresariot forays became increasingly marked by failure. In 1740 he went to Vienna, but he fell ill and did not live to attend his opera L'oracolo there in Messinia in 1742. The simplicity of his funeral on July 28, 1741 suggests that he died in considerable poverty.
After Vivaldi's death huge collection of musical manuscripts, consisting mainly of autographed appraisals of his own works, was associated with 27 large volumes. They were acquired first by the Venetian bibliophile Jacopo Soranzo and then by Count Giacomo Durazzo, patron of Christoph Willibald Gluck. Discovered in the 1920s, these manuscripts today form part of the Foa and Giordano collections National Library in Turin.
About Vivaldi
The genius of Italian music Antonio Luciano Vivaldi wrote a huge number of works. Author of about 90 opera works, more than 500 solo concerts accompanied by an orchestra.
The musician was born into the family of a barber in Venice on March 4, 1678. The father of the future composer Giovanni played masterly music on the violin. Growing up surrounded by violin music, Antonio, from the age of 10, replaced his father, who played in the Chapel of St. Mark.
At the age of 25, Vivaldi began teaching at a monastery orphanage school. His duties included teaching music to the girls of the orphanage. The learning activity involved writing works for students. During this period of his life, the composer wrote more than 60 works of different directions: concerts, oratorios, vocal music.
In 1705, Antonio's first 12 sonatas, called Opus 1, were published. In 1706, the composer's first public performance took place in the palace of the French Ambassador. During a performance in 1709 at the Pieta Conservatory, Vivaldi was introduced to King Frederick IV of Denmark, to whom the composer subsequently dedicated 12 violin sonatas.
Since 1713, Vivaldi discovered new way in creativity - the creation of opera works. According to the composer himself, he wrote more than 90 works in this genre, but about 50 have survived to this day. Initially, the operas were successful in secular society, but it was fleeting. In 1721, Antonio visited Milan, where he presented the musical drama Sylvia to the public, after which the composer returned to writing works on biblical themes for the church.
The next three years of the composer's life can be called the Roman period of his life. The move to the capital of Italy became very symbolic for Vivaldi. He wrote operas and performed before the Pope. During this period, his famous concerts from the cycle “The Four Seasons” were written. The uniqueness of the work lay in the presentation of sound when thin lines The music reflected the plot themes of the work (a fall on ice, the voice of children, the barking of a dog, the babbling of a brook).
As fame faded in his homeland, the composer's popularity in Europe grew. The Austrian Emperor Charles VI, with whom Vivaldi had a personal acquaintance, highly valued his creations. At the invitation of the emperor, the musician moved to Vienna for permanent residence. The emperor's patronage did not last long; his death and the war in Austria led to Antonio's oblivion.
The composer died in 1741 in poverty and loneliness. Even in his youth, having given dinner to celibacy, Vivaldi had no family, no children. He was buried in the Vienna cemetery of the poor. The world forgot about the work of the great genius for 200 years. Only J. S. Bach sincerely admired the Italian’s music. The revival of the name Vivaldi occurred in the middle of the 20th century. Now Antonio's works are performed at many classical music concerts.
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The medieval English philosopher Roger Bacon insisted on the importance of the so-called science of experience. In this respect, he is often considered the forerunner of modern science.
Faktrum tells interesting facts from the life of Antonio Vivaldi.
Antonio Vivaldi Wikimedia
- Vivaldi was born seven months old, very weak, but as red-haired as his father, whom even in the orchestra of St. The brand's name was Rosso, that is, “red”.
- From birth, Antonio had a serious illness - a compressed chest, he was tormented by asthma all his life, suffered from asthma attacks, could not climb stairs or walk. But physical disability could not affect inner world boy: his imagination truly knew no barriers, his life was no less bright and colorful than that of others, he simply lived in music.
- Antonio's first and main teacher was his father, Giovanni Battista, who by that time had already become a famous virtuoso.
- Giovanni Batista, perhaps due to his son’s poor health, decided to make him a priest, because rank will always ensure a position in society. Antonio received the priesthood and the right to celebrate mass, but soon stopped doing so, citing severe asthma attacks. True, it was rumored that the “red priest” once during a solemn mass could not wait for the end of the service and left the altar in order to capture on paper what came into his head in the sacristy. interesting idea about the new fugue. Then, as if nothing had happened, Vivaldi returned to " workplace" It ended with him being banned from serving Mass, which young Vivaldi was probably only too happy about.
- Vivaldi's constant companion and muse was the singer Anna Giraud, who took upon herself the care of the sick composer's health. She lived constantly in Vivaldi's house and accompanied him on numerous trips, which at that time involved dangers and hardships. These are too tight for clergyman relations with Giraud repeatedly caused criticism from the clergy. Violating the norms of behavior of a priest ultimately led to dire consequences for Vivaldi.
- In a 1713 guide to visitors to Venice, Giovanni Vivaldi and his priest son Antonio are mentioned as the city's best violinists.
- At the age of 35, Antonio worked in the theater “for three”: he wrote operas (three or four a year), staged them himself, and that’s all financial matters he decided for himself - he became a co-owner of the Sant'Angelo Theater. In addition, he continued to teach and write music for Pietà, taking vacations there to stage his operas in other cities. Few healthy people such a rhythm of life is possible, but Vivaldi had difficulty even covering the distance from the door to the carriage without outside help, he was so tormented by shortness of breath. But he didn’t seem to notice this, because his plans could not wait, he made himself the only indulgence: the Sant’Angelo Theater is the closest to his home.
- Vivaldi was the first to introduce the type of concerto for violin and orchestra, as well as for two and four violins. He created about twenty such concerts, including the only concert for two mandolins in the history of music.
- Antonio was quite clever in money matters and did not disdain to steal what was in bad shape. Once Don Antonio was instructed to buy a harpsichord, for which 60 ducats were allocated from the treasury. He negotiated with the seller for 30, and simply whistled the rest. They tried to judge him, but he, by that time a composer with European name, managed to get out.
- Johann Sebastian Bach was interested in his works, especially the violin concertos, of which he created transcriptions for other instruments. He arranged six Vivaldi concertos for piano or organ and orchestra. These works were considered Bach's works for more than a century and a half.
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio (Lucio, Lucio) Vivaldi (Italian: Antonio Lucio Vivaldi). Born March 4, 1678 in Venice - died July 28, 1741 in Vienna. Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher, conductor, Catholic priest.
Considered one of the largest representatives of Italian violin art XVIII century, which during his lifetime received wide recognition throughout Europe.
Master of ensemble-orchestral concert - concerto grosso. Many of his compositions were written for the women's musical ensemble "Ospedale della Pieta?!", where Vivaldi (who was ordained a Catholic priest) worked between 1703 and 1715 and 1723 and 1740.
Antonio Vivaldi is one of the most prolific composers.
He is the author of 90 operas, including Roland the Furious (Orlando furioso), Nero who became Caesar (Nerone fatto Cesare, 1715, ibid.), The Coronation of Darius (L'incoronazione di Dario, 1716, ibid. ), “Deception Triumphant in Love” (L'inganno trionfante in amore, 1725, ibid.), “Pharnak” (1727, ibid., later also called “Pharnak, Ruler of Pontus”), “Cunegonde” (1727, ibid. ibid.), “Olympiad” (1734, ibid.), “Griselda” (1735, Teatro San Samuele, Venice), “Aristide” (1735, ibid.), “Tamerlane” (1735, Philharmonic Theater, Verona ), “Oracle in Messenia” (1738, Teatro Sant’Angelo, Venice), “Theraspes” (1739, ibid.); oratorios - “Moses, God of Pharaoh” (Moyses Deus Pharaonis, 1714), “Triumphants Judith” (Juditha Triumphans devicta Holo-fernis barbarie, 1716), “Adoration of the Magi” (L’Adorazione delli tre Re Magi, 1722), etc.
44 concertos for string orchestra and basso continuo;
49 concherti grossi;
352 concertos for one instrument with string orchestra and/or basso continuo accompaniment (253 for violin, 26 for cello, 6 for viol d'amore, 13 for transverse, 3 for longitudinal flutes, 12 for oboe, 38 for bassoon, 1 for mandolin ); 38 concertos for 2 instruments with string orchestra and/or basso continuo accompaniment (25 for violin, 2 for cello, 3 for violin and cello, 2 for horns, 1 for mandolins);
32 concertos for 3 or more instruments with string orchestra and/or basso continuo accompaniment.
One of the most famous works is the first 4 concertos from the 8th opus, a cycle of 12 violin concertos - “The Four Seasons” - an early example of program symphonic music.
Vivaldi made a significant contribution to the development of instrumentation; he was one of the first to use oboes, horns, bassoons and other instruments as independent, rather than duplicating ones.
Antonio Vivaldi - composer and priest
Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice, which was at that time the capital of the Venetian Republic. Until the mid-20th century, researchers of Vivaldi’s biography assumed various dates for the composer’s birth; there were statements that he was born in 1675, and other dates were also given.
Discovered in January 1963 by the English scientist Eric Paul, the records of the church parish of St. John the Baptist (San Giovanni in Bragora, Castello district) made it possible to finally establish the date of birth of the composer.
He was baptized immediately after his birth in his home by a midwife, who convinced everyone that the baby's life was in danger. Although it is not known for sure, such a quick baptism of the child was most likely due to either his poor health or the earthquake that shook the city that day. Impressed by the earthquake, Vivaldi’s mother had already initially identified her son as a priest. Vivaldi's official baptism in the church took place two months later.
Antonio's distant ancestors were respected people in Brescia, where the composer's father, Giovanni Battista (1655-1736), was born in 1655. At the age of ten, Giovanni moved with his mother to Venice, where he studied hairdressing. At that time, in Italian barbers, to occupy the free time of clients, as a rule, they kept various musical instruments. Giovanni played the violin from time to time and subsequently devoted himself entirely to music.
In 1677, Giovanni married Camilla Calicchio (1655-1728) and a year later their son Antonio was born. According to church records, Antonio had three sisters - Margherita Gabriela, Cecilia Maria and Zanetta Anna, and two brothers - Bonaventura Tomaso and Francesco Gaetano, who continued their father's work and later became barbers.
In 1685, the name of Giovanni Battista was included in the list of founders of the musical community "Sovvegno dei musicisti de Santa Cecilia", whose director was the famous composer, author of a number of operas Giovanni Legrenzi. Subsequently, Giovanni became the main violinist in the chapel of St. Mark's Cathedral. It is noteworthy that in those years full name Giovanni Vivaldi was listed as Giovanni Battista Rossi. Due to the red hair color, unusual for Venetians, which Antonio inherited from his father, he was later called the “red priest” (Italian: il prette rosso).
In 1689, an opera entitled "La Fedeltà sfortunata" was staged and was composed by Giovanni Battista Rossi, suggesting that Vivaldi's father was himself a composer.
There is little information about the composer's youth and his musical education. It was probably his father who became his first music mentor, teaching him to play the violin, which the young composer began to play at the age of ten, and already in 1689-1692 he replaced his father in the chapel of St. Mark’s Cathedral due to his frequent absences from Venice.
According to some sources, Antonio studied music theory and composition with Giovanni Legrenzi, but given that Legrenzi died in 1690, many researchers have questioned the fact that Legrenzi mentored young Antonio.
Although the Luxembourg scientist Walter Kolneder noted the influence of Legrenzi's style already in one of Vivaldi's first compositional works - “Laetatus sum...” (“Let us rejoice...”), written by him in 1691 at the age of thirteen. Virtuoso violin playing and echoes in early works Antonio's musical style of the famous Roman violinist Arcangelo Corelli has led to speculation that Antonio may have studied the violin with this master. However, to date there is no clear evidence confirming this, and the time chronology of dates church service Antonio does not coincide with the date of his supposed training in 1703 in Rome.
Vivaldi's health was poor—symptoms such as "strettezza di Petto" ("tightness in the chest") were interpreted as a form of asthma. Although this did not stop him from learning to play the violin, compose, and also take part in musical events, but still did not give the opportunity to play wind instruments.
Father's service in the church cathedral and contacts with the clergy influenced the choice further career young Antonio. He decided to become a clergyman, and this is understandable, since in Italy at that time it was common practice to combine spiritual and musical careers.
Shortly after his ordination in 1704, he received an exemption from celebrating Mass due to poor health. Vivaldi celebrated Mass as a priest only a few times, after which he resigned his duties in the church, although he remained a clergyman.
In September 1703, Vivaldi became Maestro di Violino (master of the violin) at an orphanage called "Pio Ospedale della Pietà" in Venice. Being, first of all, famous composer, Vivaldi at the same time was considered an exceptional violinist in virtuosity. Vivaldi was only 25 years old when he began working at the Ospedale della Pietà. It was there that he composed most of his major works over the next thirty years.
There were four similar institutions in Venice. Their goal was to provide shelter and education to children who had been abandoned, as well as orphans whose families could not support them. These institutions were financed by the Republic. The boys were trained in trade and at the age of 15 had to leave educational institution. The girls received a musical education, and the most talented remained and became members of the famous orchestra and choir at the Ospedale.
Vivaldi wrote concertos, cantatas, and vocal music on biblical texts for students. These works, which number more than 60, are varied: they include solo chants and large-scale choral works for soloists, choir and orchestra.
In 1704, Vivaldi, in addition to his duties as a violin teacher, also received the duties of a viola teacher. The position of maestro di Coro, who were accepted at the time by Vivaldi, required a lot of time and work. He had to compose a new oratorio or concert for each holiday, and also teach the orphans music theory and playing certain instruments.
Vivaldi's relationship with the Ospedale board of directors was often tense. The board held votes every year on whether to keep him on the job as a teacher. Votes were rarely unanimous and he was not supported in 1709. A year after serving as a freelance musician, the Ospedale Council unanimously decided to bring the composer back (in 1711). During Vivaldi's year-long absence, the Council realized the importance of his role.
In 1716 he was appointed musical director Ospedale and became responsible for all musical activities of the institution.
In 1705, Giuseppe Sala's publishing house in Venice published his 12 sonatas, designated opus 1. In subsequent years, Vivaldi repeatedly turned to the genre of sonatas for one and several instruments.
In 1706, Vivaldi's first public performance took place in the palace of the French embassy. The names of virtuoso violinists, father and son Vivaldi, are also mentioned in the edition of the “Guide to Venice” prepared by the Italian cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli.
During this period, Vivaldi moved from Piazza Bragora to a new, more spacious house in the neighboring parish of San Provolo.
In 1711, 12 concertos “L’estro armonico” (“Harmonic Inspiration”) were published. In the same year, he received a fixed annual salary and became the main director of the pupils’ concerts, and from 1713 the director of the women’s conservatory “Pieta” (“Ospedale della Pietà”).
During these years, young Vivaldi worked hard, combining teaching and composing activities. His name becomes famous in his native Venice, and given the fact that Venice was visited by a large number of travelers at that time, Vivaldi’s popularity spreads beyond the borders of Venice. Thus, in 1709, during the performance of the oratorio in Pietà, Vivaldi was introduced to the Danish king Frederick IV, to whom he subsequently dedicated 12 violin sonatas.
In 1712, while staying in Venice, a meeting took place between the German composer and conductor from Breslau Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel and Antonio. Thus, Stölzel was the first German musician to have personal contact with Vivaldi.
Despite Vivaldi's frequent absences on tour, from 1718 onwards, the Pietà paid him 2 sequins a month for the obligation to write two concertos a month for the orchestra, and to rehearse with them at least five times during his stay in Venice. Pietà records show that the composer was paid for 140 concerts between 1723 and 1733.
Vivaldi began his career as an opera composer in 1713- he wrote a three-act opera “Ottone in villa” (“Ottone in the Villa”), which premiered on May 17 of the same year at the provincial Teatro delle Grazie in Vicenza. This opera is a typical example of opera seria with its protracted action and intricate plot intrigue. Written to a libretto by Domenico Lalli, with whom Vivaldi subsequently collaborated several times, it recreates an episode of Roman history. In accordance with custom, castrati singers performed as soloists, performing both male and female parts. Their performance combined the strength and brilliance of male voices with the lightness and mobility of female ones. Apparently, the production was a significant success, as it attracted the attention of Venetian impresarios.
Soon Vivaldi received a commission (scrittura) for a new opera from Modotto, the owner of the San Angelo Theater, with whom he remained in contact until his last opera"Theraspe" (1739).
A year later, in 1714, he wrote his second opera, Orlando finto pazzo (Roland, the Imaginary Madman), with a libretto by Grazio Braccioli, a loose adaptation of the famous poem Roland the Furious by the Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto.
Soon the composer wrote two oratorios based on Latin texts, “Moses, God of the Pharaohs” in 1714 and “Judith Triumphant” in 1716. The score of his first oratorio, “Moses, God of the Pharaohs,” was subsequently lost. In the Roman Conservatory of Saint Secilia, only the text of the oratorio has been preserved, indicating the names of the performers, from which it is clear that all parts, including male characters, performed by girls - pupils.
The oratorio “Judith Triumphant,” distinguished by the freshness of its melodic inspiration and the subtlety of its orchestral coloring, was one of Vivaldi’s best creations. With the widespread recognition of the talent of the composer and teacher, the number of Vivaldi’s students also increased, but neither new students nor the abundance of composing work at the Pieta Conservatory could distract Vivaldi from intensive work in the theater.
In 1715, he received a commission from the San Angelo Theater for 12 main arias in the opera “Nerone fatto Cesare” (“Nero who became Caesar”). In 1716, Vivaldi, commissioned by the San Angelo Theater, wrote another opera, “L’incoronazione di Dario” (“The Coronation of Darius”). In the same year, he wrote the opera “La costanza trionfante degl'amori e de gl'odii” (“Consistency triumphing over love and hate”) for the second most important Venetian theater of San Mosé, with which the composer was also closely associated in subsequent years. The premieres of these operas took place at the carnival of 1716.
The fact that Vivaldi became famous not only in Venice, but also beyond its borders is evidenced by the fact that in 1718 his opera “Scanderbeg” was staged on the stage of the Florentine theater.
Progressive opera style Vivaldi caused him some problems with more conservative musicians, such as Benedetto Marcello, a magistrate and amateur musician. His article entitled "Il Teatro Alla Moda" (1720) condemns Vivaldi and his operas, although he does not mention him directly in the text. But on the cover of the article there was a picture of a boat (Sant'Angelo), on the left end of which stood a small angel wearing a priest's hat and playing the violin.
In a letter written by Vivaldi in 1737 to his patron Marquis Bentivoglio, he refers to having written "94 operas". However, only about 50 Vivaldi operas have been discovered, and no other documentation exists about the remaining operas. Although Vivaldi certainly wrote many operas in his time, he never achieved the fame of such great contemporary composers as Alessandro Scarlatti, Johann Adolf Hasse, Leonardo Leo, and Baldassare Galuppi.
His most successful operas are La Costanza trionfante (Consistency Triumphant over Love and Hate) and Farnace, each of which was revived on stage six times.
In general, the period from 1713 to 1718 is considered by many researchers to be the most productive stage in the composer’s work: during these five years he wrote a total of eight operas.
In 1717 or 1718, Vivaldi was offered a new prestigious position as bandmaster at the court of Prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt, governor of the city of Mantua. He moved there and within three years composed several operas, among which was “Tito Manlio” (“Tito Manlio”).
In 1721, the composer was in Milan, where he presented the drama “La Silvia” (“Sylvia”). He visited Milan again the following year with the oratorio L'Adorazione delli tre Re Magi (The Adoration of the Magi).
In 1722 he moved to Rome, where he staged his operas of a new style. And Pope Benedict XIII invited Vivaldi to play for him. In 1725, Vivaldi returned to Venice and wrote four more operas that same year.
During this period, Vivaldi wrote four violin concertos, each corresponding to the four seasons and depicting scenes appropriate for each season. Three of the concertos are original concepts, while the first, "Spring", borrows Sinfonia motifs from the first act of his contemporaneous opera "Il Giustino". The inspiration for the concerts was probably the area around Mantua.
These concerts turned out to be revolutionary in musical concept: they depict the flow of streams, the singing of birds (of different species, each specifically characterized), the barking of dogs, the noise of mosquitoes, the crying of shepherds, storms, drunken dancers, quiet nights, hunting by both hunters, children skating and warming winter evenings. Each concerto is associated with a sonnet in which Vivaldi may have described the scenes depicted in the music. These concertos were published in Amsterdam in 1725.
In Mantua, Vivaldi met opera singer Anna Giraud., the daughter of a French hairdresser. This acquaintance had a great influence on the subsequent fate of Vivaldi. In his letters to the playwright Carlo Goldoni, Vivaldi introduces Anna Giraud to him as his “diligent student.”
According to researchers, it is Vivaldi who owes much of the credit for the development of Anna Giraud as an opera singer. This is quite likely, since Italian opera composers usually knew the secrets of vocal technique perfectly. Contemporaries spoke of Anna as a skillful and spiritual singer with a pleasant, although modest in range, voice.
Carlo Goldoni wrote that “she was ugly, but very graceful, had thin waist, beautiful eyes, beautiful hair, lovely mouth. She had a small voice, but undeniable acting talent.”
Vivaldi’s constant companion was also Anna Giraud’s sister, Paolina, who became a kind of nurse to the composer and took care of the health of the composer, who suffered from bronchial asthma. After three years of service in Mantua, Vivaldi, together with Anna and Paolina, returned to Venice, where the sharp-tongued Venetians called Anna “the girlfriend of the red-haired priest.” In Venice, both of them constantly lived in Vivaldi’s house and accompanied him on numerous trips, associated at that time with dangers and hardships.
This relationship with the Giraud sisters, which was too close for a clergyman, repeatedly caused criticism from the clergy. This was facilitated by the emergence huge amount popular rumors and speculation around the person of Vivaldi. So, According to one rumor, Vivaldi was a eunuch. Violation of the rules of behavior of a priest led to dire consequences for Vivaldi and aggravation of his relations with the church nobility of the Papal States. It is known that in 1738, the Cardinal Archbishop of Ferrara forbade Vivaldi to enter the city and celebrate Mass due to the composer’s fall from grace.
Despite all this, he always defended honor and human dignity companions of his life, invariably speaking of them with deep respect.
After three years of service in Mantua, Vivaldi returned to Venice. In 1723, he made his first trip to Rome and staged a new opera “Ercole sul Termodonte” (“Hercules on Thermodonte”). This opera made a greater impression on the Romans. The famous flautist, composer and music theorist Johann Joachim Quantz, who arrived in Rome six months after the premiere of the opera, noted that “the public liked Vivaldi’s “Lombard style” so much that from then on they did not want to listen to other music.”
In February 1724, Vivaldi returned to Rome to take part in the premiere of the opera Giustino (Justine or Giustino). The third opera, "La virtù trionfante dell'amore, e dell'odio, overo Il Tirane" ("Virtue triumphant over love and hate"), written in 1724 and presented the same year at the Roman carnival, completed the triumphant success of the works composer in Rome, a performance in which was considered a serious test for any composer.
On the same visit, he had an audience with Pope Benedict XIII, for whom the composer performed excerpts from two of his works. Although many researchers believe that Vivaldi was received by Pope Benedict XIII, according to German researcher Karl Heller, it could have been an audience with his predecessor, Innocent XIII. If we assume that Vivaldi was received by Benedict XIII, then this means that he stayed in Rome longer than during his first visit, since Benedict XIII was elected pope only on May 29, 1724.
In 1725, a cycle of 12 concerts “Il Cimento dell’Armonia e dell’Invenzione” (“The Art of Harmony and Invention” or “The Controversy of Harmony with Invention”), written by him around 1720, was published in Amsterdam. World famous, inaccurately called in Russia "Seasons", the first four concerts of this cycle already made an indelible impression on listeners with their frantic passion and innovation. The correct name is "The Four Seasons" (Le quattro stagioni), which directly refers to the multi-valued symbolism of the cycle.
Working at the French embassy in Venice at that time, he highly appreciated Vivaldi’s music and loved to perform some of this cycle himself on his favorite flute. Vivaldi’s concertos are also widely known - “La notte” (night), “Il cardellino” (the goldfinch), for flute and orchestra, concerto for two mandolins RV532, distinguished by the artistic depiction and harmonic generosity characteristic of his works, as well as spiritual works: “ Gloria", "Magnificat", "Stabat Mater", "Dixit Dominus".
In 1735 he again served briefly as bandmaster.
Antonio Vivaldi - Storm (Vanessa Mae)
At the height of his career, Vivaldi received commissions from European nobility and royalty. The serenade (cantata) "Gloria Imeneo" ("Gloria and Igomeneo") was performed in 1725 by the French ambassador to Venice in celebration of a marriage. On next year Another serenade was written - "La Sena festeggiante" ("The Celebrating Seine") - for the premiere at the French Embassy, as well as in honor of the celebration of the birth of the French royal princesses - Henrietta and Louise Elisabeth.
"La Cetra" ("The Zither") was dedicated by Vivaldi to Emperor Charles VI.
In 1728, Vivaldi met the Emperor when he visited Trieste to supervise the construction of a new port. Charles admired the Red Priest's music so much that he is said to have talked longer with the composer during one meeting than he did with his ministers for two years. He awarded Vivaldi the title of knight, a gold medal and invited him to Vienna. In response, Vivaldi presented the emperor with a handwritten copy of La Cetra.
In 1730, Vivaldi traveled to Vienna and Prague, accompanied by his father, where his opera Farnace was staged. Some of his later operas were created in collaboration with two major writers in Italy at the time. The librettos of "Olympiad" and "Catone in Utica" were written by Pietro Metastasio, court poet in Vienna. Griselda was rewritten by the young Carlo Goldoni from an earlier libretto by Apostolo Zeno.
Like many composers of that time, in recent years During his life, Vivaldi had many financial difficulties. His compositions were no longer held in such esteem as they once were in Venice. Change musical tastes quickly made them obsolete. In response, Vivaldi decided to sell large numbers of manuscripts for paltry prices to finance his move to Vienna. The reasons for Vivaldi's departure from Venice are unclear, but it is likely that after the success of his meeting with Emperor Charles VI, he wanted to take up a position as a composer at the imperial court.
It is also possible that Vivaldi went to Vienna to stage his operas. However, shortly after the composer's arrival in Vienna, Charles VI died, leaving him without royal protection and a constant source of income. The War of the Austrian Succession began - Vienna had no time for Vivaldi, and the composer went out briefly to search new job to Dresden, Saxony, where he most likely fell ill. Forgotten by everyone, sick and without a livelihood, he returned to Vienna, where he died on July 28, 1741, at the age of 63.
The quarterly doctor recorded the death of “the Reverend Don Antonio Vivaldi from internal inflammation.” On 28 July he was buried in a simple grave in the pauper's cemetery for the modest fee of 19 florins 45 kreuzers (Vivaldi's grave in Vienna does not survive). A month later, sisters Margarita and Jeanette received news of Antonio's death. On August 26, the bailiff seized his property to pay off his debts.
Vivaldi is the largest representative of Italian violin art of the 18th century, who approved a new dramatized, so-called “Lombard” style of performance.
He created the genre of solo instrumental concert and influenced the development of virtuoso violin technique. Master of the ensemble-orchestral concert - concerto grosso. Vivaldi established a three-part cyclic form for the concerto grosso and singled out the virtuoso part of the soloist.
During his lifetime, he became known as a composer capable of creating a three-act opera in five days and composing many variations on one theme.
He became famous throughout Europe as a virtuoso violinist. The musical legacy of Antonio Vivaldi was little known in XVIII-XIX centuries, was forgotten for almost 200 years, and only in the 20s of the 20th century were collections of the composer’s manuscripts discovered by an Italian musicologist.
For a long time Vivaldi was remembered only because J. S. Bach made a number of transcriptions of his predecessor’s works, and only in the 20th century was the publication of the complete collection of Vivaldi’s instrumental opuses undertaken. Instrumental concerts Vivaldi was a stage on the path to the formation of a classical symphony. Contemporaries often criticized him for his excessive passion for the opera stage and his haste and illegibility. It is curious that after the production of his opera “Furious Roland”, his friends called Vivaldi, none other than Dirus (lat. Furious). The composer's operatic heritage has not yet become the property of the world opera stage. His authorship is attributed to approximately 94 operas, although of these only about 40 are precisely identified.
It wasn't until the 1990s that Roland Furious was successfully staged in San Francisco.
Vivaldi's work had a huge influence not only on contemporary Italian composers, but also on musicians of other nationalities, primarily German. Here it is especially interesting to trace the influence of Vivaldi’s music on J. S. Bach. In the first biography of Bach, published in 1802, its author, Johann Nikolaus Forkel, singled out Vivaldi among the masters who became the subject of study for the young Johann Sebastian.
The strengthening of the instrumental-virtuoso character of Bach's thematicism during the Köthen period of his work (1717-1723) is directly related to the study of Vivaldi's music. But its influence was manifested not only in the assimilation and processing of individual expressive techniques - it was much broader and deeper. Bach adopted Vivaldi's style so organically that it became his own musical language. The inner affinity with Vivaldi's music is palpable in a wide variety of Bach's works, right up to his famous “High” Mass in B minor.
The influence that Vivaldi's music had on the German composer was undoubtedly enormous. According to A. Casella, “Bach is his greatest admirer and probably the only one who at that time was able to understand the greatness of the genius of this musician.” Bach transcribed six Vivaldi concertos for clavier, three for organ, and one for four harpsichords, strings and basso continuo (BWV 1065), based on the concerto for four violins, two violas, cello and basso continuo (RV 580).
A crater on the planet Mercury is named after Antonio Vivaldi; Italian Institute in Siena (headed by Francesco Malipiero); Vivaldi browser under development former employees Opera Software.
Antonio Vivaldi in cinema:
“Vivaldi, Prince of Venice” (France, 2006, director Jean-Louis Guillermoux);
“Vivaldi, the Red Priest” (Italy, 2009, director Liana Marabini);
"Tales of the Old Piano. Antonio Vivaldi" (cartoon, Russia, 2007, director Oksana Cherkasova)
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