Antonio Vivaldi

1678 - 1741

Like Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi was a Venetian priest who became one of the most important composers of the Baroque Period. He worked at the Pio Ospedale della Pietà (Divine Mercy Hospital), which cared for the sick and educated orphaned children. Part of this care included a full-time musical staff funded by the Venetian Republic. Vivaldi worked there for nearly thirty years as a teacher and composer. Many of his compositions were written for the children at the Ospedale.

His compositional style was highly important to the development of the solo concerto, or a concerto in which the ripieno is replaced by a single, highly skilled performer called a virtuoso. It is for his solo concerti that Vivaldi is primarily known, although he also wrote sacred music and opera. His most famous work by far is a series of four concerti called The Four Seasons.

Vivaldi's fame became so great that in 1728 he met Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, who was a great admirer. Eventually, he invited Vivaldi to come to Vienna, but the emperor died shortly before his arrival and Vivaldi, without a patron, died a year later.