Antonio Vivaldi: Violin Concerto RV238,263a,284,298,334,345

Il prete rosso: "The Red Priest" was the nickname for Antonio Vivaldi among his contemporaries. He had the unusual red hair color from his father. The rare hair color he had inherited from his father Giovanni Battista Vivaldi. The violinist was employed at St. Mark's Cathedral in 1685. The fifteen-year-old was chosen for the spiritual status, a social security not uncommon for musicians at that time. At the age of 25, he was ordained a priest and became chaplain to S. Maria della Pietà and violin teacher. Under his leadership, the Orchestra of the Ospedale della Pietà became an attraction: Venetians and visitors to the city made a pilgrimage to the services to hear the girls performing Vivaldi's compositions, playing in a side room separated by a latticework, hidden from the gaze of visitors by gauze curtains. Printed editions of his compositions made Vivaldi since 1711 a European celebrity. (Part of quote Detmar Huchting)

“The Ensemble La Partita has set itself the aim of performing seldom-heard compositions. Sulamit Haecki studied in Zurich and Freiburg. After a commitment in the Hague in 1992 she plays the first violin in the Opera Orchestra in Zurich.” — Ensemble La Partita