Vivaldi - Cello Sonata No. 4 in B flat major, RV 45

Sonata No. 4 for cello and continuo in B flat major, RV 45

Largo
Allegro
Largo
Allegro

Antonio Vivaldi wrote a set of six sonatas for cello and continuo, written between 1720 and 1730, and published in Paris in 1740 by Leclerc and Boivin. These sonatas were published without an opus number; sometimes they are improperly called op. 14.

In addition to this publication, Vivaldi wrote at least four other cello sonatas. The manuscripts of two of these are kept in the library of the conservatories of Naples, and another is kept in the castle of Wiesentheid. One sonata in D minor (RV 38) has been lost.

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 -- 28 July 1741) was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric. Born in Venice, he was recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread across Europe. He is known mainly for composing many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and over forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons.

Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi (who had been ordained as a Catholic priest) was employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. Vivaldi also had some success with expensive stagings of his operas in Venice, Mantua and Vienna. After meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna, hoping for preferment. However, the Emperor died soon after Vivaldi's arrival, and Vivaldi himself died less than a year later in poverty.

After his death, Vivaldi's music slid into obscurity until a vigorous revival in the 20th century. Today, he ranks among the most popular and widely recorded of Baroque composers, second perhaps only to Johann Sebastian Bach,[1] who himself was deeply influenced by Vivaldi's work.
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