![]() ![]() For more than 150 years, only a handful of lexicographers, biographers and musicians preserved the reputation of the composer known as “Prete Rosso” (the red priest) on account of his red hair and clerical order. His Italian contemporary, Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741), met another fate however. Such was the case with Johann Sebastian Bach. In other cases, however, a small group of enthusiasts kept the memory of a composer’s works and contributions alive in the minds of a few, until interest in him was revived. Thus, many a composer who was extremely popular and celebrated during his lifetime has been so completely forgotten since his death that he is only known today to music historians. “Six Violin Concertos for Anna Maria,” a disc by violinist Federico Guglielmo, features the highlights.The course of music history has taken surprising and, occasionally, truly strange turns. Vivaldi wrote at least 28 concertos just for her. And under the instruction of composer-in-residence Vivaldi she became one of the most celebrated violinists of her time. The orphanage named her Anna Maria dal Violin. She had been passed through a secret opening large enough only to fit a child in 1696. Like most infants left at the Pietà, Anna Maria had no last name. In those years he wrote hundreds of pieces for the all-female orchestra and choir. ![]() Vivaldi served as music director there from 1703-1715 and again from 1723-1740. They were orphans at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice - an orphanage established by the wealthy ruling class with the aim of raising girls who would be useful to society from a practical or artistic point of view. Neither attained the wealth or the immortal fame of someone like Paganini, but composers sought them out to write music for them.Īnna Maria and Chiara were two of Antonio Vivaldi’s greatest students. ![]() In the 18th century, travelers came from all over Europe to hear Anna Maria and Chiara perform in Venice. ![]()
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