On this day, 347 years ago, on March 4, 1678 (February 12, 1678 lunar calendar), Vivaldi, the founder of the classical concerto form, was born. The portrait of Vivaldi, Antonio Vivaldi, was a famous representative of the Venetian school in the Baroque era. Venice was one of the two central cities of the Italian Renaissance (the other being Florence), and in the last century it had two famous painters: Chaucer and Titian. Vivaldi, known as the "red-haired monk" because of his red hair, was born on March 4, 1678. His father was a violinist in St. Mark's Church, so he received a good musical education from an early age. He entered a convent in 1693 (at the age of 15) and was promoted to priest in 1703, but it is said that once when he was presiding over Mass, the fugue theme of the music suddenly came to his mind, and he immediately ignored the Mass being held and went to work on his composition alone. For this reason, he was disqualified from presiding over Mass. But Vivaldi himself denied this, saying that he was relieved of his priesthood soon after because of asthma. But because of his excellent violin skills and organizational skills, he was appointed a violin teacher at the religious charity, the Charity Hospital. At that time, the level of instrumental ensembles at the Charity Hospital was quite high, and their weekly concert venues were very popular. Vivaldi was at home there. Venice had four conservatories at that time, the level of which was second to none in Europe. Vivaldi also taught at one of them, the "Pieta" Conservatory, whose former site is still there. The student orchestra of the conservatory was also of high level, and was known as "playing as if an angel". Most of the music written by Vivaldi during his life was composed for the Pieta Orchestra. Vivaldi's works were rich in life, and he has discovered 650 pieces so far, including 554 instrumental pieces, more than 40 operas, and more than 50 religious pieces. Among the instrumental pieces, 454 were concertos for various solo instruments, so it is deserved to be called "King of Concertos" by later generations. Vivaldi's greatest legacy was his creation of a new form of instrumental expression - the establishment of the classical concerto form, and his collection of 12 concertos, "Inspired by Harmony," was held up as a model by his contemporaries. Both Bach and Handel were greatly influenced by him, especially Bach, who in his youth worked hard to study Vivaldi's works and adapted many of them into clavichord solos and concertos that were passed down to later generations. Vivaldi's most famous work is the violin concerto "Four Seasons", which is the first four of the "12 Violin Concertos" (OP. 9), completed in 1725, and describes the different scenery of spring, summer, autumn and winter in the middle of the year. The work is well-structured and beautifully detailed, so that you can hear the singing of birds, the gathering of dark clouds, the rustling of leaves and the sound of shepherds falling asleep. Influenced by this style, the later "Music Saint" Beethoven imitated the babbling water and the singing of cuckoos and nightingales in the Sixth Symphony (pastoral), and described the dances of villagers and the scenes of storms, etc., all inspired by the "Four Seasons". Vivaldi wrote like a fly when he wrote. He himself said that "I can compose music faster than the scribe". He accepted the commission and wrote 10 concertos in just three days. He is so prolific that it is not surprising that there are familiar situations in his works. Some people said sarcastically that "Vivaldi did not write 600 concertos, but wrote a piece 600 times". In fact, this statement is inaccurate. Some pieces seem to be similar. In fact, if you listen carefully, the style of each piece, the sound effects and methods of the orchestra's backing track are different. He never writes another piece in the same way, and although he writes like the wind, he is never sloppy. He has the amazing hearing ability to hear the sounds of nature and the ability to transform everything he hears into music, which is extremely rare among all musicians. Vivaldi had the opportunity to play for the Pope in Rome from 1723 to 1724 and received his continued applause, but in 1737 the Pope banned the performance of one of his new operas on the grounds that Vivaldi never recited Mass as a monk and had an affair with a female singer, Anna Giroud. This was a serious matter at the time. Nonetheless, it did not affect his reputation in France, Holland, and England, which was higher than in Venice. For the same reason, he lost his position at the Hospital of Mercy. In 1740, Vivaldi arrived in Vienna, physically and mentally exhausted, hoping to find a job, but his fate did not change. In the summer of 1741, a generation of musical geniuses, who were poor and ill, died in the house of a leather craftsman in Vienna. His body was buried in a public cemetery on July 28. The death of this Italian baroque master is truly tragic in comparison to his great achievements. Excellent editions of Vivaldi's major works are: "The Four Seasons" - Accardo Violin, Version for the Napoli Soloist Ensemble, Philips, CD No. 42 2065-2; "Inspiration for Harmony" - Version for Marina Conducting the St. Martin Orchestra, Decca, CD No. 443476-2; "12 Concertos for Violin and Oboe and Strings" - Accardo Violin, Holliger Oboe, Philips, CD No. 426940-2; "Sutra of Glory" - Guest Conducting the Choir of St. John's College, Version for the Wren Orchestra (Russell, Kwella, Wilkens), Decca, CD No. 448223-2, etc.