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Vivaldi, who had red hair, started out as a member of the clergy and was known as il Prete Rosso (The Red Priest).

Vivaldi composed more than 500 concertos, which includes his most famous set of four — The Four Seasons. He also wrote around 350 for solo instrument and strings and of these about 230 are for violin; the others are for bassoon, cello, oboe, flute, viola d'amore, recorder, lute and mandolin. Approximately 40 concertos are for two instruments and strings and approximately 30 are for three or more instruments and strings. This guy was busy!

The 1972 movie The Cowboys starred John Wayne, Bruce Dern and Robert Carradine. In the movie (about a cattle drive), the middle movement “Largo” from Vivaldi’s Concerto for Guitar (Lute) in D, RV93 is used as part of the soundtrack. Duke and his cowboy compatriots sit around the fire warming themselves at night, drinkin’ rot gut, eatin’ beans and waiting to get a move-on while they listen to Vivaldi being played on guitar.

It is written in several accounts that Vivaldi was conducting mass and had to leave due to an asthma attack. The cardinal excused Vivaldi from having to say mass because of this affliction. Oddly enough these attacks only seemed to hit Vivaldi when he had to attend to his priestly duties.

Although he had considerable success and was paid handsome sums during his career, Vivaldi died penniless and was buried in a pauper's cemetery in Vienna in 1741. Fifty years later, Mozart — who had also experienced fiscal success — would meet the same fate.