Winter - Vienna
Donald tries to piece together the last days of Antonio Vivaldi from the limited trail left to us by history.
Donald tries to piece together the last days of Antonio Vivaldi from the limited trail left to us by history.
As performer, composer, impresario, musical director, and teacher, Antonio Vivaldi was a key figure in the musical life of Baroque Italy. Thanks to his set of Concertos βThe Four Seasonsβ, he remains one of the most famous and best loved composers today. This week, Donald Macleod puts these four celebrated concertos front and centre as he also explores the four seasons of Vivaldiβs own life, lingering a little in his summer. We'll follow him from the start of his musical story, teaching at the Ospedale della PietΓ in Venice, through his time as an opera composer, catering to the crowds who swarmed to Venice during carnival season, to his successes away from Venice. Vivaldi had many highs in his career, however he also had some difficult low points, finding himself embroiled in scandal and accused of immoral behaviour, before dying in poverty in a foreign city β his star having fallen from favour.
With his career on the wane, the 62-year-old Antonio Vivaldi left his native city of Venice for the final time β presumably to try and forge a career elsewhere. In Fridayβs episode, Donald tries to piece together the last days of the composer from the limited trail left to us by history.
Catone in Utica, RV705 β βSe mai senti spirarti sul voltoβ
Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano (Cesare)
Ensemble Matheus
Jean-Christophe Spinosi, conductor
Lauda Jerusalem, RV609
Jennifer Smith, soprano
Wally Staempfli, soprano
Lausanne Vocal Ensemble
Lausanne Instrumental Ensemble
Michel Corboz, conductor
Concerto for Viola dβamore, lute, and Orchestra RV 540 - III. Allegro
Fabio Biondi, viola dβamore and director
Giangiacomo Pinardi, lute
Europa Galante
Nulla in mundo pax sincera, RV 630
Simone Kermes, soprano
Venice Baroque Orchestra
Andrea Marcon, conductor
Violin Concerto in F minor, RV 297 Op.8 no. 4 βWinterβ
Francesca Vicari, violin
Concerto Italiano
Rinaldo Alessandrini, conductor
Last on
More episodes
Next
You are at the last episode
Music Played
-
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto in D minor, RV540 (3rd mvt)
Performer: Fabio Biondi. Performer: Giangiacomo Pinardi. Orchestra: Europa Galante.- GLOSSA : 920414.
- GLOSSA.
- 3.
-
Antonio Vivaldi
Nulla in mundo pax sincera, RV630
Singer: Simone Kermes. Orchestra: Venice Baroque Orchestra. Conductor: Andrea Marcon.- DG 4775980.
- DG.
- 5.
-
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto No 4 in F minor, RV297, Op 8, RV297 (Winter) (Four Seasons)
Performer: Francesca Vicari. Ensemble: Concerto Italiano. Conductor: Rinaldo Alessandrini.- NAΓVE OP30363.
- naive.
- 10.
Broadcasts
- Fri 3 Feb 2023 12:00ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3
- Fri 31 May 2024 16:00ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3
Vaughan Williams Today
Beethoven Unleashed β the box set
What was really wrong with Beethoven?
Composers A to Z
Who knew? Five eye-opening stories from Composer of the Week
Five reasons why we love Parry's Jerusalem
What is the strange power of Jerusalem which makes strong men weep?
A man out of time β why Parry's music and ideas were at odds with his image...
The composer of Jerusalem was very far from the conservative figure his image suggests.
Composer Help Page
Find resources and contacts for composers from within the classical music industry.