Antonio Vivaldi
Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice. His father, Giovanni Battista, was a violinist and was Vivaldi's main music teacher. In addition to music education, he trained for priesthood and was ordained in 1703. He did not work as a priest for long due to a chronic ailment.
In 1703, Vivaldi became the violin master at the Ospedale della Pietà. Throughout his music career, he held the positions of violin master, director of instrumental music, and paid external supplier of compositions at the Pietà. During his career, he primarily worked as a freelance composer. He composed large amounts of vocal and instrumental music.
Vivaldi died in Vienna, Austria on July 28, 1741. To this day, 500 concerti, including 300 for solo instrument with orchestra, written by Vivaldi survive. He is remembered for perfecting the form of the classical three-movement concerto. He helped to establish the fast-slow-fast order for the movements of the concerto.