Composers Corner: Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678 - July 28, 1741) was born to a poor family in the busy port city of Venice. Vivaldi's father was a barber who then became a professional violinist. Vivaldi's father taught young Antonio how to play the violin, and together they performed all over Venice. Vivaldi suffered from poor health that was probably from asthma.

When Vivaldi was 15, he became a Catholic priest, although he did not really work as a priest. Instead, he took a job as a teacher at an orphanage for girls. For nearly 40 years, Vivaldi supervised the music program at the orphanage. Many of his students became outstanding musicians. Each Sunday the girls performed concerts, often playing music Vivaldi had written for them. The concerts were very popular.

Vivaldi is important not only because of the wonderful music he wrote but also because he was a big influence on other composers including J.S. Bach. People think of J.S. Bach as one of the most important early composers, but Vivaldi came first, and Bach learned a lot from Vivaldi, although they never met.

Vivaldi also found some success in writing Italian operas. Unfortunately, towards the end of his life, his music became less popular. He moved to Vienna, Austria, to look for more opportunities but died soon after in poverty. Vivaldi's music was more lively and exuberant than older music. It inspired other composers and led them in new directions. The music of Vivaldi may be old, but it is still very exciting today.