While in Mantua, Vivaldi met Anna Giraud, which is supposed to have been his life companion, although the two never married. Anna Giraud followed Vivaldi in all his residences as she was introduced as a good friend and a housekeeper, but she remained by his side until his death.
Vivaldi began to be known as a composer and he was even solicited to compose for certain personalities, such as the French king Louis XV. As Vivaldi himself was saying, he was even asked by the Pope to play the violin for him at a private audience. In fact, Vivaldi had very rewarding experiences while staying in Rome, the city being deeply inclined towards culture. Despite his long stays in Mantua or Rome, Vivaldi continued his collaboration with Pieta and with Teatro Sant' Angelo and the fact that he was only required to sent his works to these institutions shows how greatly he was appreciated in Venice. His operas were very well received in all the opera theaters were they were performed and Vivaldi had already managed to make his name known by 1728. Through concertos like the Four Seasons, Storm at Sea, or the Hunt, Vivaldi "transformed the tradition of descriptive music into a typically Italian musical style with its unmistakable timbre in which the strings play a major role." Vivaldi's compositions continued to be played even after the death of the composer and some of his works remain today some of the most known and appreciated...
Vivaldi's compositions were especially appreciated in France and at the court at Versailles, which was the center of cultural events of the 18th century.
After 1731, Vivaldi focused primarily on operas and no further collections of instrumental music were published, although he continued to create it but only for the purpose of selling it. Vivaldi managed up until that point to be paid considerably for his work and this was the reason for which he decided not to publish any further instrumental music. In 1740, Vivaldi decided to move to Vienna under the patronage of Charles VI, but he did not have a long life there as he died in 1741. His funeral was rather modest, but his greatness continues to be known and appreciated to this day.
Bibliography
Baroque composers and musicians. Antonio Vivaldi, available at http://www.baroquemusic.org/bqxvivaldi.html;
Fry, Betty, Classical composer profile: Antonio Vivaldi, January 29, 2002, available at http://www.lessontutor.com/bf_vivaldi.html;
Krantz, Allen, Antonio Vivaldi, available at http://www.classicalarchives.com/bios/vivaldi_bio.html;
Stanley, Sadie (ed.), "Antonio Vivaldi," extracted from the Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, MacMillan Press Ltd., London, 1996.
Baroque composers and musicians. Antonio Vivaldi, available at http://www.baroquemusic.org/bqxvivaldi.html
