Vivaldi composed his famous 'The Four Seasons' and other 'characteristic' concertos while serving Prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt in Mantua from 1718 to 1720, where the rural environment influenced his descriptive music.
Compositional Technique
Vivaldi's concertos often feature virtuoso challenges, a mixture of different instruments, sonic curiosities, and special spatial effects, as well as improvised elements like cadenzas and recitatives.
Recording & Production
This album includes the world premiere recording of what appears to be the original version of Vivaldi's 'Summer' Concerto, found in a manuscript in Genoa, which differs significantly from the published version.
Composer Biography
Vivaldi's father, Giovanni Battista, was a barber and violinist at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, and a close associate of Giovanni Legrenzi, a composer whose opera 'La divisione del mondo' is featured on this album.
Composer Biography
Vivaldi died in Vienna after Emperor Charles VI, his illustrious protector, died from eating poisonous mushrooms, leaving Vivaldi alone during the War of the Austrian Succession.
Composition History
Vivaldi was ordained a priest in 1703 and in the same year was engaged as 'Maestro di violino' by the Ospedale della Pietà, an institution that educated orphaned girls in music.
Recording & Production
This album aims to complete the recording of all Vivaldi's known instrumental compositions, a project that began exactly one hundred years ago with the Concerto RV 356 in 1924.
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