The Illustrated Lives of the Great Composers
143 sidor 17x24cm, ill. i s/v, hft. Utgivarens beskrivning:
Vivaldi enjoyed enormous success as virtuoso, composer and impresario. This genius
who wrote The Four Seasons was an extraordinarily prolific composer. He was made a
knight, yet died in obscurity and was given a paupers funeral. His story is an
extraordinary one, worthy of one of his own operas, and is vividly retold here with the
help of such contemporary accounts as the Memoires of Carlo Goldoni.
He was a priest (known by his contemporaries as Il Prete Rosso, the red-haired priest)
and was born and spent most of his life in Venice when the republic was a magnet for
the world, drawn by its beauty, its music and earthly pleasures.
Vivaldis constant companion was a singer, Anna Giró, and there were rumours that their relationship was more intimate than was proper for a priest.
Sumptuously illustrated with photographs, paintings, engravings and contemporary
documents, the book gives great insight into Vivaldis music, his life and times.
This book is another important addition to this acclaimed series of musical biographies.
John Booth is a journalist and author with a lifelong passion for music, especially that
of the baroque period.
His interest in Vivaldi was stimulated when hearing Bachs transcriptions of works by Vivaldi. This is John Booths first venture into writing about music his previously published works have been about wine and food. He works as an editor with a group of local newspapers in the south-east of England.