7 Antonio Vivaldi 7Vivaldi had dealings with the Pietà for most of his career:
as violin master (1703–09; 1711–15), director of instrumental
music (1716 –17; 1735–38), and paid external supplier of
compositions (1723–29; 1739 –40).
Vivaldi’s earliest musical compositions date from his
first years at the Pietà. Printed collections of his trio
sonatas and violin sonatas respectively appeared in 1705
and 1709, and in 1711 his first and most influential set of
concerti for violin and string orchestra (Opus 3, L’estro
armonico) was published by the Amsterdam music-publishing
firm of Estienne Roger. In the years up to 1719, Roger pub-
lished three more collections of his concerti (opuses 4, 6,
and 7) and one collection of sonatas (Opus 5).
Vivaldi made his debut as a composer of sacred vocal
music in 1713, when the Pietà’s choirmaster left his post
and the institution had to turn to Vivaldi and other com-
posers for new compositions. He achieved great success
with his sacred vocal music, for which he later received
commissions from other institutions. Another new field
of endeavour for him opened in 1713 when his first opera,
Ottone in villa, was produced in Vicenza. Returning to Venice,
Vivaldi immediately plunged into operatic activity in the
twin roles of composer and impresario. From 1718 to 1720
he worked in Mantua as director of secular music for that
city’s governor, Prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt. This was
the only full-time post Vivaldi ever held; he seems to have
preferred life as a freelance composer for the flexibility
and entrepreneurial opportunities it offered. Vivaldi’s
major compositions in Mantua were operas, though he
also composed cantatas and instrumental works.
The 1720s were the zenith of Vivaldi’s career. Based
once more in Venice, but frequently traveling elsewhere,
he supplied instrumental music to patrons and customers
throughout Europe. Between 1725 and 1729 he published
five new collections of concerti (opuses 8 –12). After