Antonio Vivaldi, A Genuine Entertainer with a Violin
If Salzburg is synonymous with Mozart and Vienna with Strauss, then Venice is equated with Vivaldi. The Four Seasons, one of the most famous Baroque musical compositions in the world, can be heard in promotional videos and in concerts for tourists seeking the atmosphere of eighteenth-century Venice. Vivaldi’s music is, however, rarely performed in the city’s theatres, such as the renowned La Fenice, which is quite the opposite of the situation in Venice three centuries ago, when the “red-haired priest”, as Vivaldi was known, was a real star.
Born in Venice in 1678, Antonio Vivaldi was forgotten immediately after his death and rediscovered only in the twentieth century. During his own lifetime, however, he enjoyed immense success. This is easy to understand if we imagine Venice at that time, a city where music and theatre were as popular as film in Hollywood today. The presence of Vivaldi in the room immediately attracted attention. As a celebrated violin virtuoso, his personal fame was equal to that of his music. It is interesting to note that, at that time, there were no seats in the theatres, only a few chairs for ladies. Thus, people were coming and going all the time, walking from one theatre to another. Music was the connecting thread that brought diverse people from various social strata together through entertainment. Vivaldi was very aware of this “social” aspect of music and took advantage of it by trying to create compositions that, above all, corresponded to the taste of the moment: he was an entertainer.
Not only that. Vivaldi’s inspiration was boundless, so he was constantly creating music. He wrote an extraordinary 750 compositions for the orphanage Ospedale della Pietá, most of which were instrumental works, although his oeuvre also includes a hundred cantatas, sacred music and about forty melodramas. Vivaldi was apparently very satisfied during that period, as he was guaranteed the possibility of having the musicians and singers from the orphanage constantly at his disposal. In the end, rumours persisted that he was not only a red-haired priest, but a very passionate individual as well. Interestingly, the legend of Vivaldi is closely connected with his father, who was also a musician and took care of his son’s business arrangements throughout his life. As it turned out, he died only five years before his son Antonio. Despite his great popularity, Vivaldi was not wealthy. At that time, a musician was valued little more than a waiter and received a modest salary.
Vivaldi’s immense popularity was associated with a unique period of Italian music. The fashion of the time for pastiche, a kind of collage of works by different composers, ensured that his name circulated widely. However, other musical centres were also gaining ground: Rome, Bologna and especially Naples, where a new type of opera was emerging. Almost overnight, Vivaldi’s music became old-fashioned. In 1737, at the age of 60 (which made him an old man at that time), he set out for Vienna to seek his fortune at the court of Charles VI, who loved Vivaldi’s music so much that he had invited him to the capital. Unfortunately, Antonio’s desire to become a court musician was thwarted by the Emperor’s death in 1740. A year later, Vivaldi himself passed away. He died in poverty after selling off some of his precious manuscripts for a pittance.
Vivaldi’s music will come to life again in the Slovenian Philharmonic in January 2024 at the 9th Philharmonic Festival of Baroque Music. The excellent young musicians Patricija and Klara Avšič will perform The Four Seasons, while conductor and flautist Federico Maria Sardelli, who, alongside Michel Talbot, is considered the greatest expert on Vivaldi’s music, will perform Vivaldi’s vocal-instrumental works with the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir.
