• Name: Antonio Vivaldi
• Birthday: 03/04/1678
• Birth Place: Venice, Italy
• Died: 07/28/1741
• Place of Death: Vienna, Austria
• Period: Baroque
• Genre: Classical

Title	Release
(153) Double Mandolin Concerto, for 2 mandolins, strings & continuo in G major, RV 532
(198) Gloria, for 3 solo voices, chorus, trumpet, oboe, violin (ad lib), 2 violas, 2 cellos, strings & continuo in D major, RV 589
(37) Gloria, for 6 solo voices, chorus, trumpet, 2 oboes, 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, strings & continuo in D major, RV 588
(271) Mandolin Concerto, for mandolin, strings & continuo in C major, RV 425
(21) Recorder Concerto, for recorder, strings & continuo in F major, RV 442	2004
(48) Trio Sonata for violin, lute & continuo in C major, RV 82	1992
(29) Trio Sonata for violin, lute & continuo in G minor, RV 85 WA	1969
(701) Violin Concerto, for violin, strings & continuo in E major ("La Primavera," The Four Seasons; "Il cimento" No. 1), Op.8/1, RV 269
(325) Violin Concerto, for violin, strings & continuo in F major ("L'autunno," The Four Seasons; "Il cimento" No. 3), Op.8/3, RV 293
(547) Violin Concerto, for violin, strings & continuo in F minor ("L'inverno," The Four Seasons; "Il cimento" No. 4), Op. 8/4, RV 297
(295) Violin Concerto, for violin, strings & continuo in G minor ("L'estate," The Four Seasons; "Il cimento" No. 2), Op. 8/2, RV 315
(4) Descriptive Sonnet to the concerto entitled "Autumn" ("l'autunno"), Op. 8/3, RV 293	1996
(4) Nisi Dominus (Psalm 126), for 3 voices, viola d'amore, chalumeau, violin, strings & continuo in A major, RV 803	2003
(3) Tito Manlio (II), opera in 3 acts (Act 3 only), RV 778 WA	2004
(3) Violin Concerto, for violin, strings & continuo in B flat major (doubtful), Op. 7/9, RV 373	1975
(3) Violin Concerto, for violin, strings & continuo in F major ("Il ritiro" III), Op. 7ii/4, RV 294a	1975
(13) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in B flat major, RV 502
(5) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in C major, RV 473
(8) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in E flat major, RV 483
(14) Flute Concerto, for flute, strings & continuo in D major, RV 427	1988
(12) Cello Concerto, for cello, strings & continuo in D major, RV 403	1989
(13) Oboe Concerto, for oboe, strings & continuo in F major (doubtful), RV 456	1994
(10) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in C major, RV 466
(11) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in C major, RV 467
(10) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in F major, RV 486
(11) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in F major, RV 491
(18) Oboe Concerto, for oboe, strings & continuo in C major, Op. 8/12, RV 449 WA	1985
(8) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in C major, RV 471
(5) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in C major, RV 475
(3) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in F major, RV 490
(6) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in G major, RV 492
(9) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in G minor, RV 495
(4) Cello Concerto, for cello, strings & continuo in C major, RV 399	1987
(7) Cello Concerto, for cello, strings & continuo in D minor, RV 405	1987
(17) Cello Concerto, for cello, strings & continuo in E minor, RV 409	1987
All' ombra d'un bel faggio, cantata for voice & continuo, RV 649
(13) All'ombra di sospetto, cantata for voice, flute & continuo, RV 678	1990
(10) Alla caccia dell'alme e de' cori, cantata for voice & continuo, RV 670
(2) Allor che lo sguardo, cantata for voice & continuo, RV 650	1996
(12) Amor, hai vinto (I), cantata for voice, strings & continuo, RV 651	1980
(13) Amor, hai vinto (II), cantata for voice, strings & continuo, RV 683	1985
(4) Andromeda Liberata, serenata (opera; attributed)	2008
(2) Armida al camp d'Egitto, opera in 3 acts (act 2 lost), RV 699 A/D
(2) Arsilda, regina di Ponto, opera in 3 acts, RV 700
(11) Ascende laeta, solo motet for voice, strings & continuo in A major (introduzione to Dixit Dominus), RV 635	2003
(5) Aure, voi più non siete, cantata for voice & continuo, RV 652
(25) Bajazet (Il Tamerlano), pasticcio opera ("tragedia per musica") in 3 acts, RV703	1999
(25) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in A minor, RV 497
(25) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in A minor, RV 498
(10) Bassoon Concerto, for bassoon, strings & continuo in A minor, RV 499

The creator of hundreds of spirited, extroverted instrumental works, Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi is widely recognized as the master of the baroque instrumental concerto, which he perfected and popularized more than any of his contemporaries. Vivaldi's kinetic rhythms, fluid melodies, bright instrumental effects, and extensions of instrumental technique make his some of the most enjoyable of baroque music. He was highly influential among his contemporaries and successors: even as esteemed a figure as Johann Sebastian Bach adapted some of Vivaldi's music. Vivaldi's variable textures and dramatic effects initiated the shift toward what became the Classical style; a deeper understanding of his music begins with the realization that, compared with Bach and even Handel, he was Baroque music's arch progressive. Though not as familiar as his concerti, Vivaldi's stage and choral music is still of value; his sometimes bouncy, sometimes lyrical Gloria in D major (1708) has remained a perennial favorite. His operas were widely performed in his own time.

Details regarding Vivaldi's early life are few. His father was a violinist in the Catherdral of Venice's orchestra and probably Antonio's first teacher. There is much speculation about other teachers, such as Corelli, but no evidence to support this. Vivaldi studied for the priesthood as a young man and was ordained in 1703. He was known for much of his career as "il prete rosso" (the red-haired priest), but soon after his ordination he declined to take on his ecclesiastical duties. Later in life he cited ill health as the reason, but other motivations have been proposed; perhaps Vivaldi simply wanted to explore new opportunties as a composer. It didn't take him long. Landing a job as a violin teacher at a girls' orphanage in Venice (where he would work in one capacity or another during several stretches of his life), he published a set of trio sonatas and another of violin sonatas. Word of his abilities spread around Europe, and in 1711 an Amsterdam publisher brought out, under the title L'estro armonico (Harmonic Inspiration), a set of Vivaldi's concertos for one or more violins with orchestra. These were best sellers (it was this group of concertos that spurred Bach's transcriptions), and Vivaldi followed them up with several more equally successful concerto sets. Perhaps the most prolific of all the great European composers, he once boasted that he could compose a concerto faster than a copyist could ready the individual parts for the players in the orchestra. He began to compose operas, worked from 1718 to 1720 in the court of the German principality of Hessen-Darmstadt, and traveled in Austria and perhaps Bohemia. Throughout his career, he had his choice of commissions from nobility and the highest members of society, the ability to use the best performers, and enough business savvy to try to control the publication of his works, although due to his popularity, many were published without his consent. Later in life Vivaldi was plagued by rumors of a sexual liaison with one of his vocal students, and he was censured by ecclesiastical authorities. His Italian career on the rocks, he headed for Vienna. He died there and was buried as a pauper in 1741, although at the height of his career his publications had earned a comfortable living. ~ All Music Guide, All Music Guide