Education That Made Him The Man That He Was
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, is greatly remembered all around the world as a priest that had an exceptional amount of talent and skill when it came to composing music and playing instruments, specifically the violin. Yet the mystery of how this man became as successful as he did, remains. However, after a bit of research the answer was found. - Life back in the 16th and 17th century was very different then how it is now, because back in those days your "Social Status" (as in the position a person or family holds) was very important and determined how you lived in a society. Antonio's family held a poor social status with no history or background regarding royalty. Therefore, no matter how hard they worked, their family would always be beneath others. Due to the poor status that they held, the children of this family, including Antonio weren't able to afford the regular schooling and education that was needed, to get a proper and good job. Based on the unfortunate circumstances, Antonio's parents had no other choice other then to have him study and become a priest, because the schooling and training would be free. Therefore, in the year 1693 when Antonio was only 15 years old he began training very hard for this particular position. (Though exactly where he was trained is unknown.) Antonio studied very hard in order to become a priest, because after all, it was the only way that he could get education and a good job. While Antonio was training (to become a priest) he was also learnnig how to play the violin as well. How? Well, Antonio's father, Giovanni Battista Vivaldi was a professional violinist and he wanted Antonio to play the violin as well, therefore, Giovanni often had one on one sessions with Antonio in which he would teach him how to play the violin properly. These sessions were probably very helpful since Antonio was the only student and all the attention could be focused on him. Antonio's passion for this instrument grew and he soon began to out-do his father when it came to playing it. After learning how to play the violin from his father, Antonio continued to study to become a priest, however, he also spent a fair amount of time with his father, playing the violin. In fact in 1696 Antonio even toured Venice with his father and together they played various songs on the violin. (They became one of the most popular duos of all time.) I personally think that this specific event, must have helped Antonio's skills as a violinist because, the tour gave him a chance to apply his skills and use the feedback to improve.- Though Antonio loved to play the violin, in the year 1703 he had to stop for, that was the year that he was finally "ordained" as a priest. However, in the year 1704 because of his poor health Antonio was unable to fulfill his duties as a priest and therefore, he quit this job. This gave him the chance to fully devote his passion to music.- Now apart from being a trained violinist and priest Antonio also learned how to compose music. It is believed that Giovanni Legrenzi a well known composer, was the first person to teach Antonio the basics about composing music. After Giovanni Legrenzi introduced him to composing, Antonio took a great interest in this type of art and soon with the help of Giovanni mastered the art of composing. Overall, the reason for Antonio's success is because he was fortunate enough to be taught by some of the best musicians in his time.