BaroqueAntonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice, the city on the water, almost three hundred and fifty years ago.
Antonio Vivaldi’s life
The big moments of this life, and what was happening in the world at the same time.
A life at a glance
And after his or her death: 1 landmark in the detailed timeline (1926).
- 1678👶 Birth
Born in Venice on 4 March; his father is a violinist at St Mark’s
- 1682🌍 Meanwhile
The French court moves to Versailles
- 1687🌍 Meanwhile
Newton publishes the laws of gravitation
- 1700🌍 Meanwhile
Bartolomeo Cristofori invents the piano in Florence (c. 1700)
- 1703🎩 Careerage 25
Ordained a priest — nicknamed ‘the Red Priest’
- 1703🎩 Careerage 25
Violin master at the Ospedale della Pietà, a girls’ orphanage
- 1711🎼 Workage 33
L’estro armonico, Op. 3, published in Amsterdam — a European success
- 1713🎼 Workage 35
First opera, Ottone in villa
- 1716🎼 Workage 38
Juditha triumphans, oratorio
- 1719🌍 Meanwhile
Defoe publishes Robinson Crusoe
- 1728🧳 Journeyage 50
Meets Emperor Charles VI, an admirer
- 1741🕯️ Deathage 63
Dies poor in Vienna on 28 July
- 1926🏛️ Landmark185 years after death
Rediscovery of his manuscripts in Turin
Listen to the music
Press the big button to listen. Close your eyes: how does it make you feel?
How does this music feel to you?
How does this music feel to you?
How does this music feel to you?
Excerpts of up to 90 seconds, freely licensed recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
Once upon a time…
Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice, the city on the water, almost three hundred and fifty years ago. He had red hair and became a priest: people called him “the Red Priest”!
He taught violin at an orphanage for girls. They became wonderful musicians, and tourists came from far away to hear them play behind grilles.
Vivaldi wrote hundreds of concertos. The most famous, The Four Seasons, tells the year in music: birds singing in spring, the summer storm, the autumn hunt and the cold of winter when your teeth chatter.
After he died he was forgotten for almost two hundred years. Then his music was found again, and today it is everywhere!
Antonio Vivaldi’s instruments
Tap an instrument to hear it!
Cards to flip
Are you an expert on Antonio Vivaldi?
Answer the questions and win stars!
Same era · Baroque
1659 – 1695BaroqueHenry Purcell
Henry Purcell was born in London more than three hundred and fifty years ago, just as England got a king back after years when music had been almost forbidden.
1668 – 1733BaroqueFrançois Couperin
François Couperin was born in Paris into a family where almost everyone played the organ!
1681 – 1767BaroqueGeorg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann was born in Germany more than three hundred and forty years ago.
1683 – 1764BaroqueJean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau was born in Dijon more than three hundred and forty years ago.
1685 – 1759BaroqueGeorg Friedrich Haendel
George Frideric Handel was born in Germany the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach.
1685 – 1750BaroqueJohann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Germany into a family where nearly everyone was a musician!