It is believed that Vivaldi received his first instructions in music from his father and his earliest public performances were as a violinist in Christmas services at St Marco in 1696. Between 16, Vivaldi was trained for the priesthood at the local churches of St Geminiano and St Giovanni in Oleo while continuing to live with his family in the parish of St Martino. While the life of Vivaldi’s father is pieced together from his name appearing in documents around Venice, it is believed that he became an accomplished violinist, had composed an opera, and even had his hand in the management and production of some Venetian operas. Vivaldi, while very idiosyncratic and defiant in his compositions, still managed to gain a wide fan base during his life.īorn in 1678, the eldest of nine children, Antonio Vivaldi was the son of a violinist trained as a barber. Vivaldi blurs the lines between modes, composing in a musical “grey” area, builds upon cadential fragments, and often composed with instruments in contradiction of one another. He was extremely flexible in his use of the flexible sixth and seventh degrees of the minor scale, often embracing the augmented second as a melodic feature even in ascending lines. Vivaldi’s musical language is distinctive containing many occurrences of Lombardic rhythms (a repetitive pattern where a short note is followed by a long note) and a preference toward syncopation.

He is thought to be the one who laid the foundation for the culmination of the Baroque concerto as well as a pioneer of orchestral program music. Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi was one of the most original and influential composers of his generation.

Vivaldi music