Antonio Vivaldi was born march 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy, Vivaldi was ordained as a priest though he instead chose to follow his passion for music. He created hundreds of works, and became renowned for his concertos in baroque style, becoming a highly influence innovator in form and pattern. He was known for his operas, including Argippo and Bajazet. He died on July 18,1741.
In his early life. His father, Giovanni Battista Vivaldi, was a professional violinist who taught his young son to play as well. Because of his father, Vivaldi met and learned from some of the finest musicians and composers in Venice at the time. Vivaldi sought religious training as well as musical. At the age of 15, he began studying to become a priest. He was ordained
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in 1703. Due to his red hair, Vivaldi was known locally as " il prete rosso", or the "red priest." Health problems prevented him from delivering mas and drove him to abandon the priesthood shortly after his ordination. At age 25, Vivaldi was named master of violin at the Ospedale Della Pietà (Devout hospital of Mercy) in Venice.
He composed most of his major works for over 3 decades.
Musical career
In addition to his choral music and concerti, Vivaldi had begun regularly writing opera scores by 1715; about 50 of these scores remain. His two most successful operatic works, La constanza trionfante and Furnaces, were performed in multiple revivals during Vivaldi's lifetime.
In addition to his regular employment, Vivaldi accepted a number of short-term positions funded by patrons in Mantua and Rome. Around 1717 to 1721, that he wrote his four-part masterpiece, The Four Seasons. He paired the pieces with four sonnets, which he have written himself.
Vivaldi's fans and patrons included members of European royal families. One of his cantatas, Gloria e Imeneo, was written specifically for the wedding of King Louis XV. He was also a favorite of Emperor Charles VI, who honored Vivaldi publicly by naming him a knight.
Vivaldi's music
Vivaldi was very productive in vocal and instrumental concerti. He was nervous and not religious. To a recent research, he composed more than 700 pieces, from sonatas and operas, all the way to concertos. For example, one could have instrumental and vocal pieces and some with 3 to 4 movements or 1 to 2 vocal performers against a full
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orchestra. The vocal music is very rare. People don’t know much of him. But back then in his time period he was a star to people since he was a opera composer. Most of his music were written for his home town but some were performed throughout Italy. For example, for cities he performed like Rome, Florence, Verona, Vicenza, ancona, and mantua. He was also known for the great eighteenth century violin virtuous. The majority of his sonatas for one or two violins and through-bass. For his concertos, 221 are solo violin and orchestra. Other concertos are a variety of solo instruments, as for a flute, the clarinet, trumpet, and mandolin. He also wrote for his concertos was solo instruments, concerti grossi, and concertos full orchestra. Concerto grosso is a small group of solo players set against orchestra. Concerto for orchestra shows different styles rather than differences of instruments. Orchestral music Vivaldi's concerts are organized as fast,slow,fast. The outside movements are the same key to each other. The middle group is the same key or in a close related key. A solo instrument may extend the material played by the orchestra or could be different material of its own. The alternation between soloist and orchestra builds up tension that can be dramatic. His orchestra was different in his time from the modern orchestra because of size and constitution. Mostly winds were called for, strings constituted the main body of players. In Vivaldi's concerts, the orchestra is essentially a string orchestra with one or two harpsichords or organs to play the trough bass. Mostly of Vivaldi's concerts are pieces of program music.
It gives them a musical description of events or natural scene. Vivaldi also represents the four seasons. But in his concerts "the program" doesn’t determine the formal structure of the music. Some music material may bring the call of a bird or the rustling of leaves but a formal plan is to maintain the concert.
Later life and death
Vivaldi's renowned as a composer and musician in early life did not translate into lasting financial success. Stunned by younger composers and more modern styles, Vivaldi left Venice for Vienna, Austria, possibly hoping to find a position in the imperial court located there. He found himself without prominent patron following the death of Charles VI, however, and died in poverty in Vienna on July 28, 1741. He was buried in a simple grave after funeral service that proceeded without music.
Musicians and scholars revived Vivaldi's music in the early 20th century. Many composer's unknown works were recovered from obscurity. Vivaldi has been performed widely since World War ll. The choral composition Gloria, reintroduced to the public at Casella's Vivaldi week, is particularly famous and is performed regularly at Christmas celebrations worldwide. Vivaldi's work, including nearly 500 concertos, have influenced subsequent composers, including Johann Sebastian
Bach.
On Sunday afternoon November 21, 1999, at 2:00 p.m.at 419th Concert Worldwide, 330th in New York, 218th in Carnegie Hall I attended a MidAmerica production that presented the New England Symphonic Ensemble. This concert contained several different compositions by large groups of musicians, including an orchestra band, and chorus. This concert was divided into three different parts. First there was the Vivaldi which was divided into 12 sections. Virginia-Gene Rittenhouse was the music director, Raymond Sprague was the conductor, Judith Von Housers Voice was the soprano, Mary Nessinger voice was the Mezzo soprano, and Elizabeth Hastings was the portative. There was a reprise in the first section Gloria which opened up the symphony.
Mozart then wrote the entire musical score completely from memory. He only had to correct minor errors to correct when he heard it again. When Mozart was in Italy, he wrote his famous operas Mitridate, re di Ponto, Ascanio in Alba in 177, and Lucio Silla in 1772.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven are very famous past composers that have created many pieces that have influenced not just people of their time, but people in modern times as well.
Antonio Stradivari was born in Bergamo Italy 1644. In his youth he lived in Cremona Italy, where he became the apprentice of Nicolo Amati. He had married twice, once in 1667 with a woman named Francesca, whom he had six children with. His first son only lived for six days. The rest later became priests, and apprentices of their father. Francesca then died in 1698. Soon after Stradivari remarried in 1699 to a woman named Antonia. Antonia and Stradivari had four children. Two of which had died. Stradivari bought a home in Piazza Roma; this is where Stradivari carried out his work as a luthier, with his sons at his side as apprentices. In 1737 Stradivari had died and was buried in the church of San Domenico in Cremona where his family had originated.
Claudio Monteverdi was born on May 15, 1567, in Cremona Italy, Monteverdi was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and the Early Baroque, and is known as the first great composer of the operas. Monteverdi is often view as a composer of the Renaissance and of the Baroque, there is a similar pattern in that is continuous that is often viewed through his work in both styles. Monteverdi often was known as a dramatic composer, while bringing a tremendous meaning from the text he set that often turned each of his pieces into a believable musical and also produced a dramatic statement.
Franz Liszt, Hungarian piano virtuoso and composer. Among his, many notable compositions are his 12 symphonic poems, two (completed) piano concerti, several sacred choral works, and a great variety of solo piano pieces.
The Four Seasons composed by Vivaldi was one of the earliest examples of program music and was also the most famous of all his concertos. Vivaldi wanted to depict the various seasons in the four concerti in Italian. When you listen to the Four Season, you feel as though he has created a whole another atmosphere with its own feelings. He seems to have used only the four major instruments that are usually present in an orchestra, which are the violin, viola, cello and bass, to depict this atmosphere effortlessly.
Ishtar is the Sumerian/Babylonian goddess of love and sexuality who clearly represents both the remaining presence and imminent decline of goddess worship. This decline can be seen through blatant disrespect towards Ishtar from both Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Firstly, Gilgamesh very rudely rejects Ishtar’s sexual advances by essentially calling her “damaged goods”, asking “why would I want to be the lover of a broken oven that fails in the cold...tar that blackens the workman’s hands...a waterskin that is full of holes and leaks all over its bearer” (132). Enkidu manifests this disrespect in a more physical manner: throwing the thigh of the Bull of Heaven at Ishtar’s face. However, despite the clear overtones of goddess decline, there is also
Many prominent musicians produced major works during the romantic period. Among these are Beethoven, Strause, and Bach. But the musician that I think had the most impact, was Franz Schubert. Franz Peter, born on 31 January 1797 was one of fourteen children born of Franz Theodore Schubert and Elisabeth Vietz, four of which survived. He grew up in an apartment that daily converted to a classroom in which his father taught several elementary school classes. He received a thorough basic education; his father being a good teacher, and son being a bright student. From his father Franz also learned to play the violin, and from his brother he learned the piano. The family, indeed, was a very musical one; family "String Quartet Parties" were well known in the part of Vienna in which they lived. But soon young Franz learned all that his family had to teach him. Later, any neighbors who could play any instruments were drawn in and the quartet became a little orchestra. At nine years old, this inquisitive little boy auditioned and was accepted for a position as a chorister in the Royal Court Chapel Choir (which would later become the 'Vienna Boys' Choir). The young chorister gained the attention of Antonio Saliere, who saw to the nurture the young boy's education. After leaving the choir, he continued as a student at the school for one unhappy year. Schubert returned to live at home where it was decided that he would help his father teach. This did not last long. A disastrous episode with an unruly pupil was the last straw and Schubert at age nineteen left teaching and his home to pursue what he loved, composing. He moved in to the...
Beethoven was born on December 17, 1770 in Bann, Germany. From a young age Beethoven was involved with music because he came from three generations of musicians. He received instruction from his father on the piano and violin. One of his earliest concerts was in front of his father’s peers against his will. Beethoven had a fiery temper and was somewhat introverted in his school years. Beethoven went to school until the age of ten. At this time his family’s finances prevented his family from affording the education that he needed. In July of 1787, Beethoven’s life was further thrown into disarray with the death of his mother. Despite Beethoven’s misfortune he would still achieve monumental amounts of success while in Vienna. His success can be attributed to the fact that he crafted relatio...
Petronio ultimately led him to becoming the most prolific Italian composer of baroque trumpet pieces. He contributed over three dozen pieces variously entitled sonata, sinfonia, or concerto, for one to four trumpets, to the collection of trumpet repertoire. All eight of his collections of concerts, sinfonias, and sonatas were published chronologically, making it easy to trace his progress as a composer and how he contributed to the concerto and concerto grosso genres over his career. Torelli’s works are well preserved and those that were not published remain in manuscript. Although Giuseppe Torelli built his career as a virtuoso violinist and composer of string chamber works he contributed immensely to the world of trumpet literature to the point where he has become a household name in the realm of modern trumpet
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. His works are traditionally divided into three periods. In his early period, he focused on imitating classical style, although his personal characteristics of darker pieces, motivic development, and larger forms are already evident or foreshadowed. In his middle period, he is beginning to go deaf, and has realized that he cannot reverse the trend. His works express struggle and triumph. He stretches forms, with development sections becoming the bulk of his works. He is breaking from tradition and laying the groundwork for the romantic style period. In his late period, he breaks almost completely with classical forms, but ironically starts to study and use baroque forms and counterpoint. He is almost completely deaf, and his works become much more introspective with massive amounts of contrast between sections, ideas, and movements. He dies in Vienna in 1827.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is often referred to as the greatest musical genius of all time in Western musical tradition. His creative method was extraordinary: his writings show that he almost always wrote a complete composition mentally before finally writing it on paper. Mozart created 600 works in his short life of 35 years. His works included 16 operas, 41 symphonies, 27 piano concerti, and 5 violin concerti, 25 string quartets, and 19 masses.
Composers of emerging the Classical period, such as Mozart and Beethoven were influenced by Vivaldi’s innovations of the concerto (Paterson). A concerto is a piece that consists of a solo instrument supported by an orchestra. Vivaldi’s innovations of the concerto form included making the solo piece more prominent (Paterson). By making the solo piece more elaborate, Vivaldi highlighted the skill of the soloist. Mozart and Beethoven included this characteristic in the concertos that they composed during their lifetimes. Another innovative characteristic of Vivaldi’s concertos was that they were often programmatic. A programmatic piece of music consists sounds meant to evoke the audience’s imagination to create an experience (Paterson). Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is an example of a programmatic piece of music because it includes sounds resembling bird calls to make the audience think of springtime (Paterson). Program music was a relatively new form of music that Vivaldi helped develop through his compositions. Although Vivaldi made these significant contributions to music, he has been criticized for predictability and repetition in his pieces of music (Paterson). Since he has written almost five hundred concertos, his music is likely to have some repetitive elements (“Antonio Vivaldi”). But much of his music included innovative characteristics, seen in the music of later composers, such as Haydn
When it comes to remarkable violinist of the romantic era, there is none better than Niccolò Paganini. Born on the 27, of October 1782, in Genoa, Italy, he was a man know for his incredible talent and skill. His father taught him how to play the mandolin at the age of five, he then picked up the violin two years later when he was seven. Even as a child his potential was immediately noticed, therefore he was offered various scholarships for violin lessons. As he matured and the French invaded Italy, he began playing concerts with his father in Livorno. The next couple years for Paganini included recognition for his technique and his incredible musicianship despite his hand deformation.. With works such as his Concertos No. 1-4, Paganini was unequivocally an influential and inspiring composer.