Search - Antonio Vivaldi, Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà :: Vivaldi Per Archi: Concertos for strings

Through their development and quest for sonorities, on a mass scale and in minute detail, these concertos, described by Walter Kolneder as "orchestral studies" laid the foundations for the classical symphony. There are composers who fit precisely into their surroundings and their inspiration corresponds exactly to the resources at their disposal. With the students at the Pietà, of whom the most talented had only one distraction, the pleasure of making music, Vivaldi was able to reach the best; this exceptional instrument, this laboratory, allowed the blossoming, in the words of Marcel Marnat, "of the immense and complex work of one of the most discussed and yet inscrutable musical geniuses". The novelty, vigour, freshness and immediacy of Vivaldi's art, qualities which touch us today, could not have flourished without the youth and compliance of his students. The work he imposed on them demonstrates the power of combining discipline and artistic freedom.