This tragic stroke of bad luck left the composer without royal protection and a source of income. But shortly after Vivaldi's arrival at Vienna, Charles died. Reasons for Vivaldi's departure from Venice are unclear, but it seems likely that he wished to meet Charles VI, who adored his compositions (Vivaldi dedicated La Cetra to Charles in 1727), and take up the position of royal composer in his Imperial Court. His compositions no longer held the high esteem they once did in Venice changing musical tastes quickly made them outmoded, and Vivaldi, in reponse, chose to sell off sizeable numbers of his manuscripts at paltry prices to finance a migration to Vienna. Vivaldi's life, like those of many composers of the time, ended in poverty. This business caused him some troubles with other musicians, like Benedetto Marcello, who wrote a pamphlet against him. However, not all the musicians showed the same enthusiasm: Igor Stravinsky provocatorily said that Vivaldi had not written hundreds of concertos, but one concerto, repeated hundreds of times.ĭespite his saintly status, he is supposed to have had many love affairs, one of which was with the singer Anna Giraud, with whom he was suspected of using materials from old Venetian operas that he only slightly adapted to the vocal capabilities of his mistress. Bach transcribed a number of Vivaldi's concertos for solo keyboard, along with a number for orchestra, including the famous Concerto for Four Violins and Violoncello, Strings and Continuo ( RV 580). Johann Sebastian Bach was deeply influenced by Vivaldi's concertos and arias (recalled in his Passions and cantatas). Vivaldi has been also indicated as a precursor of romantic musicians. He is considered one of the composers who brought Baroque music (with its typical contrast among heavy sonorities) to evolve into an impressionist style. This popularity soon made him famous also in countries like France, at the time very closed into its national schemes. These are among the causes of the vast popularity of his music. The joyful appearance of his music reveals in this regard a transmissible joy of composing. Moreover, Vivaldi was able to compose non-academic music, particularly meant to be appreciated by the wide public, and not only by an intellectual minority. Vivaldi's music is innovative, breaking a consolidated tradition in schemes he gave brightness to the formal and the rhythmic structure of the concerto, repeatedly looking for harmonic contrasts, and invented innovative melodies and themes. Not so well known is the fact that most of his repertoire was re-discovered only in the first half of the 20th century in Turin and Genoa, but was published in the second half. At the orphanage he covered several different duties, with the only interruption for his many travels, and in 1713 became responsible for the musical activity of the institute.
In 1705 the first collection ( raccolta) of his works was published. Shortly after his appointment, the orphans began to gain appreciation and esteem abroad too Vivaldi wrote for them most of his concertos, cantatas, and sacred music. Not long after, in 1704, he was given a dispensation from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his ill-health (he apparently suffered from asthma), and became a violin teacher at an orphanage for girls called the Pio Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. In 1703 Vivaldi became a priest, soon nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, 'The Red Priest', probably because of his red hair. His father, a barber and a talented violinist himself (some have said he was a virtuoso), had helped him in trying a career in music and made him enter the Cappella di San Marco orchestra, where he was an appreciated violinist. Antonio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678, Venice – July 28, 1741, Vienna), nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, meaning 'The Red Priest,' was an Italian priest and baroque music composer.
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