itzhak perlman vivaldi the four seasons spring

The other were mostly for bassoon, flute, oboe, and cello-all instruments played by girls at the Hospital. About half were for violin, including 37 for his most successful protege, a virtuoso known as Anna Maria dal Violin. Over the course of his career, Vivaldi wrote 500 concertos. His primary vehicle was the concerto, which is a work for an instrumental soloist accompanied by an orchestra. He not only taught them how to play their instruments but wrote music for them to play. Vivaldi was exceptionally good at his job, and soon the girls at the orphanage became the best musicians in the city.

His job was to teach them the musical skills that would allow them to secure desirable husbands. The Devout Hospital of Mercy, at which Vivaldi took a position, was an orphanage for girls. Source: Wikimedia Commons Attribution: Pier Leone Ghezzi License: Public Domain The text refers to Vivaldi as “The Red Priest,” a nickname he was given due to his curly red hair. Image 6.11: This portrait of Antonio Vivaldi was completed by Pier Leone Ghezzi in 1723. The children were brought up with all of the advantages (except parents), and were prepared for comfortable lives. While not all of the surrendered infants were of high birth, the city’s noblemen took an interest in the welfare of their illegitimate children, which meant that the orphanages were always well-funded. Instead, unwanted infants were deposited at orphanages via the scaffetta, which was an opening just large enough to fit a newborn. It was common- even acceptable-for Venetian aristocrats to keep mistresses, but the children of these relationships could not be brought up in the marital home. Venetian orphanages were not the squalid workhouses we know from Victorian literature. However, he became highly skilled as a violinist and composer, and in 1703 he took the position of violin master at a local orphanage, the Devout Hospital of Mercy (Italian: Ospedale della Pietà note that Hospital at this time does not indicate a center for medical care).

He initially trained as a Catholic priest, but ill health prevented him from performing many of his duties.

Vivaldi spent his life in the city of Venice, which at the time was a wealthy and independent Republic.

Itzhak perlman vivaldi the four seasons spring