Vivaldi's Personal Background

 

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in 1678 in Venice, then the capital of the Republic of Venice. Vivaldi's childhood is vague at best, but we know that his involvement in music was developed at an early age due to his father's fame as a professional violinist. Thus, because Vivaldi's musical training began at an early age, it subsequently resulted in an early mastery, and a significant career as a musician relatively early in life. So, Vivaldi was a renowned violinist, and had even acquired some composition training by the time he was 24. He likely even trained under Giovanni Legrenzi, an early Baroque composer, the maestro di cappella at St. Mark's Basilica, and the president of the Sovvegno. While his musical training diminished when he was studying to be a priest, Vivaldi was able to resume his musical career and life where it left off. This included the continued relationship with his father. He and Giovanni Battista Vivaldi (his father) worked closely together; Antonio Vivaldi's father was likely his principal copyist for a large stretch of time, and they often toured together. They may have even shared a succession of apartments in Venice, and they traveled to Vienna together, where Antonio later died. His father, who he kept constant ties with later in life, predominantly defined Vivaldi’s childhood. However, Antonio Vivaldi transitioned from being his father's student to working in tandem after his priestly training. He had already made great achievements for his age in the field of music, so he likely became a priest for the prestige. Once he was ordained he gained the nickname "the Red Priest" due to his red hair, which attributed to his growing fame as a musician. After a brief time actually leading mass Vivaldi then entered the field of composition due to several accounts of a 'failure to perform his duties as deacon and priest', during which he was recording his compositional thoughts. He clearly favored music, and thus music defined his life.