Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (Venice, 4 March 1678 - Vienna, 28 July 1741) was a famous Italian virtuoso violinist and composer.
The son of a violinist at St. Mark’s Basilica, he was ordained a priest in 1703. This, combined with the colour of his hair, gained him the nickname "il Prete Rosso" (The Red Priest). Vivaldi suffered from a form of asthma that meant he could carry out his duties as a priest for long.

He was a teacher of violin and composition from 1703 to 1740 and then "concert master" and "choir master" at the Ospedale della Pietà, an important Scuola of music in Venice for orphaned girls.
Vivaldi often left Venice during that time, visiting many Italian and foreign cities (especially in Germany and the Netherlands) as both violinist and opera impresario. His instrumental works were by then famous: the best being his "Le quattro stagioni" (The Four Seasons), a symphonic composition of four concerts for violin, and "L’estro armonico".

In 1740 Vivaldi left Venice for Vienna, where he would die on 28th July of the following year, in poverty and alone.

After his death, this musician (until then famous throughout Europe) fell into complete oblivion. The value and works of this forgotten Venetian musician were only re-discovered in the early 1900s thanks to the studies of a few Dutch musicians. Vivaldi’s operas (his main activity) were also once acclaimed, together with his sacred music with the rediscovery of his splendid Gloria.

Vivaldi’s joyful and extremely melodic music is very important in terms of the history of music and the evolution of musical forms. In fact, Vivaldi shaped and perfected the solo concert, introducing intense expressiveness and personal lyricism for the soloists (at the time only seen in opera arias).
Today, Vivaldi is considered one of the fathers of the classical symphony on account of his sinfonias and "Concerti ripieni".

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