Antonio Vivaldi

Also known as the “Red Priest” or Il Preste Rosso, Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was as well-known composer in the Baroque period of music. “The Four Seasons” which is arguably one of the greatest musical pieces in the Baroque period was is greatest piece. As a child, Vivaldi trained for priesthood, but quit because of various medical problems such as chest pains, angina pectoris, and asthmatic bronchitis. These medical problems prevented Vivaldi from preaching Mass. After he left training for priesthood, his father, a professional violinist who played at St. Marks taught Antonio Vivaldi to play the violin. Soon Vivaldi realized that he was a violin virtuoso and was named a master of violin at a girl’s orphanage. There at Pietà, a girls’ orphanage, Vivaldi taught and played the violin, as well as composing many musical pieces. As previously stated, Vivaldi produced quantities of musical pieces, but “The Four Seasons” was the most popular and the musical composition that made him famous. Very straightforward, this piece is divided into four sections, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Each season is also divided into three movements. “The Four Seasons” was first published in Amsterdam in 1725. Each movement has its own description and depicts the season very thoroughly through the art of music

[1] Student Research Center - powered by EBSCOhost: Vivaldi, Antonio." EBSCOhost. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=4&hid=17&sid=17ae757a-a84a-400c-8bde-28cf43acdfbc%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=ulh&AN=39038875

[2] Antonio Vivaldi: a detailed informative biography." baroque music page: biogs, pictures, music samples. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2010. <http://www.baroquemusic.org

[3] Boynick, Matt. "Antonio Vivaldi." ppbWiki: Main, HomePage browse. The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, 1 Feb. 1996. Web. 18 May 2010. <http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/vivaldi.html

[4] Student Research Center - powered by EBSCOhost: Vivaldi, Antonio." EBSCOhost. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=4&hid=17&sid=17ae757a-a84a-400c-8bde-28cf43acdfbc%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=ulh&AN=39038875

[5] Grasmeier, John Grasmeier. "Vivaldi's Four Seasons." Angelqueen Traditional Catholic News, Resources, Discussion and Information Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2010. <http://angelqueen.org/articles