![]() ![]() 1720s) is in the three-movement concerto structure that Albinoni introduced and that Vivaldi perfected, with fast first and third movements that exchange passages between the orchestra and the soloist, and a slow middle movement featuring eloquent, long-breathed melodies. His skill at writing technical passages that were simultaneously virtuosic and yet comfortable on the instrument showcased the soloist through dazzling figurations and melodious stretches alike. What we do know is that Vivaldi’s focus on this instrument during this period was exceptional, as the bassoon had been largely neglected by Italian composers in the late seventeenth century. It is unknown, however, whether Vivaldi’s bassoon concerti were intended to showcase students at the Pietà, or if they were written for another local bassoonist. ![]() Many of his concerti were meant to be played by his students at the Pietà, written in a way that showed off the skill of the soloist but allowed a wide variety of talents to participate in the orchestra-the soloist’s part was virtuosic, the orchestral accompaniment much simpler. ![]() In all, he wrote thirty-seven concerti for bassoon (or possibly for its precursor, the dulcian), second in number only to those for violin (coming in at over 230 violin concerti). His long-held position as teacher and composer at the Pio Ospedale della Pietà-a home for orphaned girls in Venice-gave Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) the perfect laboratory for perfecting the concerto form in the early eighteenth century. ![]()
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