Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Each concert captures a particular mood. Most are happy, while some others are pensive. These melodies date to the first part of Vivaldi's life. He was 27 when these sonatas were published, a coming star in Venice. They sparkle with melodies and life.
1. Trio Sonatas (1705)
Vivaldi wrote these sonatas for two violins and “continuo”, typically a harpsichord or an organ. For high-quality automatic renditions, we must use instruments that are pleasant with commonly available technology. Current favourites are pianos, harpsichords, harps, guitar and flutes. The present standard adaptations are built with flutes, a piano and a harpsichord. I created two adaptations, one for "pleasant listening" and another for a "recreation of a tonality that Vivaldi could have heard himself".
For "pleasant listening" I used standard tuning, using the equal temperament frequency of 440 Hz.
For the harpsichord version I used an instrument produced in Sicily in 1697 by Grimaldi, tuned to its native Werkmeister III setting of 415 Hz (available from Pianoteq at Modartt). This gives an attractive mellow tone to these compositions.
“Trio Sonatas”, standard tuning first, harpsichord version second
1. Trio Sonata in G minor, RV 73
2. Trio Sonata in E minor, RV 67
3. Trio Sonata in C major, RV 61
4. Trio Sonata in E major, RV 66
5. Trio Sonata in F major, RV 69
6. Trio Sonata in D major, RV 62
7. Trio Sonata in E-flat major, RV 65
8. Trio Sonata in D minor, RV 64
9. Trio Sonata in A major, RV 75
10. Trio Sonata in B major, RV 78
11. Trio Sonata in B minor, RV 79
12. Trio Sonata in D minor, RV 63 “La Follia”
2. La Stravaganza Series
La stravaganza [literally 'Extravagance' or 'Eccentricity'] concerts were written in 1712–1713. They were first published in 1716 in Amsterdam and were dedicated to Venetian nobleman Vettor Delfino, who had been a violin student of Vivaldi. The concertos were originally scored for solo violin, strings, and basso continuo. For our standard instruments, we made these changes: the dominant section is performed by either flutes, guitars or trumpets. The remaining are performed by a modern piano.
Concerto, Op. 4, in B-flat major, RV383
Concerto, Op. 4, in E minor, RV279
Concerto, Op. 4, in G major, RV301
Concerto, Op. 4, in C major, RV357
3. Early Concerts
Vivaldi passed through various musical epochs. Some of his early successes date from the 1720's, and we selected a few pieces for you.
Concerto G minor, RV107
Concerto La Tempesta di Mare, RV433
Concerto Two Trumpets, RV537
Concerto Lute Concerto, RV93
Concerto Piccolo, RV443
4. The Woodwind Seasons
These four concerti give musical expression to each season of the year. These were composed around 1718-1723. They are generally played on string instruments, plus a harpsichord. Since this is beyond our current virtual instrumentation, we substituted the following woodwind instruments for the top voices: an alto flute, an oboe d'amore, a Bb clarinet, and a bassoon. Support is provided by pianos. This instrumentation may sound a bit surprising at first, but it also supports well the various sounds (birds, dogs, thunders, etc.) that Vivaldi chose to illustrate each season.
All were produced with virtual instruments.
Public Domain
Updated 2026