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Antonio Vivaldi. What a joy to create!
Sezione 1
Sezione 2
The spretate
VENICE, Pio Ospedale della Pietà. 1703
PLAY ME
Meeting other musicians and my first experiments in the
orchestra of San Marco, both alongside and in place of my father,
were the ideal atmosphere to develop my talent. Yet, I did not opt for music as the main profession of my life. Surprisingly enough, I preferred to start a career in the Church; in the very early 18th century, I was ordained a priest, but due to asthma,
which aggravated my health, I had to leave the Church after only one year. So I chose her: music. A happy choice that would make me one of the most famous Venetian composers, one of the great masters. I began as a violin teacher at the Pio Ospedale della Pietà, a famous Venetian orphanage and conservatory, which was a women's institution at the time. Certainly,
my brief career as a priest gave me the greatest guarantees of morality. Teaching at the Pietà would become a constant in my life, despite frequent interruptions... Yes, because of my difficult and violent temperament, I would be dismissed and recalled several times. Because of this and because of my hair, I was immediately nicknamed 'the red priest'.
The pupils of the Pietà sang and played several instruments; violin, organ, flute, oboe, bassoon and trumpet. Thus, I had at my disposal a high quality orchestra that allowed me to experiment with form and orchestration, the astonishing results of which would influence the music of the entire 18th century, especially far beyond the borders of Venice.
Sezione 3
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