The creator of hundreds of spirited, extroverted
instrumental works, Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi is
widely recognized as the master of the Baroque
instrumental concerto, which he perfected and
popularized more than any of his contemporaries.
Vivaldi's kinetic rhythms, fluid melodies, bright
instrumental effects, and extensions of instrumental
technique make his some of the most enjoyable of
Baroque music. He was highly influential among his
contemporaries and successors: even as esteemed a
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The creator of hundreds of spirited, extroverted
instrumental works, Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi is
widely recognized as the master of the Baroque
instrumental concerto, which he perfected and
popularized more than any of his contemporaries.
Vivaldi's kinetic rhythms, fluid melodies, bright
instrumental effects, and extensions of instrumental
technique make his some of the most enjoyable of
Baroque music. He was highly influential among his
contemporaries and successors: even as esteemed a
figure as Johann Sebastian Bach adapted some of
Vivaldi's music. Vivaldi's variable textures and
dramatic effects initiated the shift toward what became
the Classical style; a deeper understanding of his
music begins with the realization that, compared with
Bach and even Handel, he was Baroque music's arch
progressive. Though not as familiar as his concerti,
Vivaldi's stage and choral music is still of value; his
sometimes bouncy, sometimes lyrical Gloria in D major
(1708) has remained a perennial favorite. His operas
were widely performed in his own time.
Published in 1711, the L'estro armonico, concertos (12)
are among Vivaldi's earliest works. They are grouped in
four sets of three, each containing a concerto for solo
violin and one each for two and four violins. Written
in a concerto grosso style, these works were
tremendously influential in their time, virtually
laying the foundations for the concerto form in the
eighteenth century. This G major effort for solo violin
appears in the first chapter of the L'estro armonico
and is cast in three movements. It is one of the set's
shorter concertos, with a duration of about six to
seven minutes, each panel lasting only about two
minutes. The Allegro first movement begins with a
vigorous, lively theme in the strings, after which the
solo violin enters, mostly contributing rhythmic music.
The strings present the most important thematic
material here, though the solo violin has an equal and
crucial role. In the brief Largo that follows, the
violin sings sadly between the dark repeated chords of
the now-deferential orchestra. The Allegro finale finds
the strings quite active again, but with the soloist
vying for the spotlight, both producing colorful,
joyous music brimming with vibrancy throughout.
Although originally composed for Violin and Strings and
later arranged for Violin & Piano by John Howard, I
created this transcription of the Allegro from the
Concerto in G Major (RV 310 Op. 3 No. 3 Mvt. 1) for
Viola & Piano.
SHEET MUSIC