Thursday, March 4, 2010

Who is Antonio Vivaldi: Here is your answer

Till today, I did not know who is Antonio Vivaldi. On March 4, 2010, Google changed its logo and I was wondering what happened. Today, I came to know who is Antonio Vivaldi. He is a famous musician and a great violinist. Google changed its logo to celebrate Vivaldi’s 332nd birthday.

The four violins depicted on Google’s logo actually refer to Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” is a series of four “violin concerti.” The four concertis were actually part of larger set of twelve titled as “Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The Contest between Harmony and Invention).



Antonio Lucio Vivaldi popularly known as il Prete Rosso which means “The Red Priest” was a Venetian Baroque composer, priest, and a famous violinist. He was born on March 4, 1678, in the Republic of Venice and raised over there. During his lifetime, he composed more than 500 instrumental concertos, sacred choral works and more than 40 operas. A large number of Antonio Vivaldi’s compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà. It was an orphanage for poor and illegitimate children. Antonio Vivaldi worked in this orphanage from 1703 to 1740. Though a brilliant musician, Antonio Vivaldi died a poor man. After meeting the Charles VI, the emperor, Antonio Vivaldi came to Vienna but the emperor soon died after his arrival. Antonio Vivaldi’s music was appreciated by the critiques during his lifetime but it gradually lost its popularity. In the first half of the twentieth century Antonio Vivaldi’s music was rediscovered and is very much popular among people all over the world.


Related article:

The Christian Science Monitor

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