Antonio Vivaldi
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Antonio Vivaldi was born in 1678, in Venice (also called the capital of the Republic of Venice at this time). He was born into a household with five siblings. His father was a professional violinist, and although we aren't completely sure who taught Vivaldi how to play music, that is a likely guess. An interesting thing about Vivaldi's birth, is that he was baptized on the same day he was born. It might've been due to an illness, or the fact that there was an earthquake on the same day of his birth.
Vivaldi was indeed a very sickly person. He had a tightness of the chest (also called asthma today) . That didn't stop him from doing what he loved though. By the age of 15 he was studying to be a priest. He was often referred to as "The red priest" or il Prete Rosso, because of his red hair. Soon after he became a priest at the age of 25, he was dismissed because he was very ill.
At 25, after being dismissed as a priest, he was hired as a violinist for the orphanage Ospedale della Pieta'. He would go on to work there for the next 30 years of his life. Vivaldi started to write great music for the children at the orphanage. Concertos, solos, etc, he wrote over 60 pieces of music for this Orphanage.
In his later years is where he really shined though. Luckily enough Opera was the main form of entertainment for Venice at this time. Vivaldi wrote several great Operas that were shown at the Royal Court, and even played for Pope Benedict XIII. A bit later, he wrote his greatest piece, the Four Seasons. Sadly, like many composers of this time, he would die poor and alone. His music had died out of style in Venice, leaving him poor and without a job. He tried selling some spare manuscripts but it was no use. He died of an infection in July of 1741, aged 63.
Vivaldi was indeed a very sickly person. He had a tightness of the chest (also called asthma today) . That didn't stop him from doing what he loved though. By the age of 15 he was studying to be a priest. He was often referred to as "The red priest" or il Prete Rosso, because of his red hair. Soon after he became a priest at the age of 25, he was dismissed because he was very ill.
At 25, after being dismissed as a priest, he was hired as a violinist for the orphanage Ospedale della Pieta'. He would go on to work there for the next 30 years of his life. Vivaldi started to write great music for the children at the orphanage. Concertos, solos, etc, he wrote over 60 pieces of music for this Orphanage.
In his later years is where he really shined though. Luckily enough Opera was the main form of entertainment for Venice at this time. Vivaldi wrote several great Operas that were shown at the Royal Court, and even played for Pope Benedict XIII. A bit later, he wrote his greatest piece, the Four Seasons. Sadly, like many composers of this time, he would die poor and alone. His music had died out of style in Venice, leaving him poor and without a job. He tried selling some spare manuscripts but it was no use. He died of an infection in July of 1741, aged 63.
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