【极致经典】Europa Galante -《Les Quatre Sainsons》: : : : :  by xiaokanshijie 






Happy Birthday Vivaldi!




Artist: Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante

Born in Palermo, Fabio Biondi began his international career at the age of twelve, performing his first solo concert with the RAI symphony orchestra. Driven early on by an inexhaustible cultural curiosity, Fabio Biondi was introduced to pioneers of the new approach to baroque music, an opportunity that was to expand his musical vision and change the direction of his career.

When he was sixteen, he was invited by the Musikverein of Vienna to perform Bach's violin concertos. Since then, Fabio Biondi has performed with ensembles including Cappella Real, Musica Antiqua Wien, Seminario Musicale, La Chapelle Royale and Les Musiciens du Louvre (ever since its foundation) all specialised in the performance of baroque music using original technique and instruments.

In 1990, Fabio Biondi founded Europa Galante, an ensemble which, in just a few years thanks to their worldwide concert schedule and extraordinary recording successes, became the most internationally renowned and awarded Italian ensemble of baroque music. Fabio Biondi and his ensemble have been invited to play at the most important world festivals and concert halls, from La Scala in Milan to the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Lincoln Center in New York and the Sydney Opera House.


Music Composer: Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678 – July 28, 1741), nicknamed il Prete Rosso ("The Red Priest"), was a Venetian Baroque composer, priest, and famous virtuoso violinist. He was born and raised in the Republic of Venice. The Four Seasons, a popular series of four violin concerti, is his best-known work. His other compositions include over 500 instrumental concertos, sacred choral works and over 40 operas.

Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage for poor and illegitimate children where Vivaldi worked between 1703 and 1740. Vivaldi also had some success with stagings of his operas in Venice, Mantua and Vienna. After meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna hoping for preferment. The Emperor died soon after Vivaldi's arrival, and the composer died a pauper, without a steady source of income.

Well received during his lifetime, Vivaldi's music went into a decline until it was rediscovered in the first half of the 20th century. Vivaldi's music is popular with modern audiences.