The Cologne New Philharmonic performs with modern instruments, believing it is their duty to use improved mechanisms to do justice to immortal works, as suggested by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Composition History
In 1926, musicologist Alberto Gentili discovered a wealth of unpublished Vivaldi manuscripts in an Italian convent, which were only made public after World War II due to legal battles.
Composer Biography
Antonio Vivaldi, born in Venice in 1678, was ordained as a priest and later became a violin instructor at the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage for girls.
Cultural Impact
The rediscovery of Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons' in 1949 initiated a renaissance that secured his place in history as a master of the Italian Baroque concerto.
Composition History
Vivaldi composed various works for the girls' instruction and public concerts at the Ospedale della Pietà for 35 years.
Critical Reception
Stravinsky's cynical remark that Vivaldi composed the same concerto 400 times represented a long-accepted opinion of the Italian composer.
Instruments
The three 'Piccolo Concertos' on this recording are the only known works Vivaldi composed for the piccolo, which he knew as the sopranino recorder.
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