Given how little we know about the biography of Antonio Vivaldi, it seems an almost impossible task to pinpoint the ways in which the great Venetian's compositions are linked to events in his life. Just as with many of his contemporaries, we must regretfully acknowledge that very few details about his life have come down to us. It was almost three centuries before historians were able to verify that he was born on March 4, 1678. We know that he was ordained to the priesthood at an early age; that he served as a violinist in the Cappella di San Marco from about the age of thirty; and that he also played in ensembles with his father. Additionally, we know that he was appointed as director of an Accademia � in this case, an orphanage in Venice � that both provided its female charges with an education and employed them as musicians or choral singers who performed for profit.
This provided the impetus for what was to become Vivaldi's immense and varied output of instrumental concertos and concerti grossi, which were written between 1716 and 1725 for performance by the students of the Ospedale della Pieta?. These works represent the largest proportion of his magnificent and vivid oeuvre, which, in its more meditative moments and in the almost impressionistic quality of its timeless beauty, allows us a tangible and highly descriptive glimpse of the Baroque world.
