A Wisdom Archive on Antonio Vivaldi

His father, Giovanni Battista, a barber before becoming a professinal violinist, taught him to play violin at first, then toured Venice playing violin with his father. In 1703 Vivaldi was ordained as a priest, soon nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", probably because of his red hair. Not long after, in 1704, he was given a dispensation from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his ill-health (he apparently suffered from asthma) and in late 1706 he withdrew from the priesthood and became maestro di violino at an o ...

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Pound's early poetry was inspired by his reading of the pre-Raphaelites and other 19th century poets and medieval Romance literature, as well as much neo-Romantic and occult/mystical philosophy. When he moved to London, under the influence of Ford Madox Ford and T. E. Hulme , he began to cast off overtly archaic poetic language and forms in an attempt to remake himself as a poet. He believed W. B. Yeats was the greatest living poet, and befriended him in England, eventually being employed as the Irish poet's secretary. He was also interested ...

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Early Music Orlando Gibbons Consorts for viols, Phantasm (Avie) Concerto Edvard Grieg and Robert Schumann Piano Concertos Leif Ove Andsnes / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Mariss Jansons (EMI) Opera and Record of the Year Mozart Le nozze di Figaro Soloists; Ghent Collegium Vocale; Concerto Köln / René Jacobs Harmonia Mundi HMC90 1818/20 Artist of the Year Magdalena Kožená Lifetime Achievement London Symph ...

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Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of art, ecclesiastical and concert music. A music is classical if it includes some of the following features: a learned tradition, support from the church or government, or greater cultural capital. Classical music is also described as complex, lasting, transcendent, and abstract. In many cultures a classical tradition coexisted with traditional or popular music, occasionally for thousands of years, and with differen ...

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In theater, the elaborate conceits, multiplicity of plot turns, and variety of situations characteristic of Mannerism (Shakespeare's tragedies, for instance) are superseded by opera, which drew together all the arts in a unified whole. Dance was popular in the Baroque era. ...

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Early in the 17th century, and persisting in some cases into the mid-18th, the term "concerto" was applied as one of several indiscriminate choices for any piece that featured opposing or contrasting sonic groups, particularly voices with continuo (see also concertato). The first major influences on the concerto were made by Antonio Vivaldi who established the ritornello form used in the movements. He wrote the famous group of violin concertos titled The Four Seasons. By Johann Sebastian Bach's time the concerto as a polyphonic instru ...

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Orchestral (Record of the Year) Mahler, Symphony No 10 in F sharp, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle (EMI) Baroque Instrumental Pandolfi, Violin Sonatas Op 3 Nos 1-6; Op 4 Nos 1-6, Andrew Manze, Richard Egarr (Harmonia Mundi) Baroque Vocal Handel, Acis and Galatea, Les Arts Florissants/William Christie (Erato) Chamber Shostakovic ...

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Opera (Record of the Year) Antonín Dvorák, Rusalka, Mackerras (Decca) Editor's Choice Naxos's British music series Baroque Instrumental Jacquet de la Guerre, Premiére livre, Carole Cerasi (Metronome) Baroque Vocal A Scarlatti, Il primo omicidio, René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi) 20th-Century Vocal Hanns Eisler, Hollywood Songbook, Goerne; Schneider (Decca) Chamber Robert Schumann, Piano Trios, Florestan Trio (Hyperion) 20th-Century Chamber ...

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Because of his political views, especially his support of Mussolini and his anti-Semitism, Pound continues to attract much criticism. While many have asserted that it is impossible to ignore the vital role he played in the modernist revolution in 20th century literature in English, Pound's perceived importance has varied over the years. The location of Pound -- as opposed to other writers such as T.S. Eliot -- at the center of the Anglo-American Modernist tradition was most famously asserted in scholarly circles by the critic Hugh Kenner, mo ...

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