Although Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) had already
accomplished himself as a composer of violin sonatas
and of sacred music, nothing propelled his career more
than his first set of concertos -- L'estro armonico
(Op.3) -- which first appeared in 1711. Besides being
widely popular with both musicians and audiences of the
day, L'estro armonico had a significant impact on the
development of the relatively new solo-concerto. The
set's influence was felt all across Europe -- no less a
figure than J.S. B...(+)
Although Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) had already
accomplished himself as a composer of violin sonatas
and of sacred music, nothing propelled his career more
than his first set of concertos -- L'estro armonico
(Op.3) -- which first appeared in 1711. Besides being
widely popular with both musicians and audiences of the
day, L'estro armonico had a significant impact on the
development of the relatively new solo-concerto. The
set's influence was felt all across Europe -- no less a
figure than J.S. Bach transcribed six of the Op.3
concertos for keyboard.
La cetra, Op. 9, is a set of twelve violin concertos by
Antonio Vivaldi, published in 1727. All of them are for
violin solo, strings, and basso continuo, except No. 9
in B flat, which features two solo violins. The set was
named after the cetra, a lyre-like instrument, and was
dedicated to Emperor Charles VI. La Cetra may not be as
well known or as frequently recorded as either
Vivaldi's Op. 8 (including the Four Seasons) or Op. 3,
L'Estro Armonico, but it is well worth having in your
collection. These twelve concertos offer a great deal
of rewarding music: beautiful serenades, haunting
largos, and even an occasional melody borrowed from the
Seasons, fitted out with a striking new accompaniment.
In La Cetra, Vivaldi frequently achieves a new level of
expressiveness combined with virtuosity which helped
pave the way for devilish exploits of Paganini. With a
performance as frankly romantic as I Musici's, it's
easy to make the connection between these two Italian
giants.
Although this, the Violin Concerto in E Major (RV 263
Op. 9 No. 4) was originally scored for Violin and
Strings (2 Violins, Viola, Cello, Bass & Continuo), I
created this arrangement for String Quartet (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC