VIVALDI FLUTE CONCERTOS
Antonio Vivaldi, violinist and composer, was born on March 4, 1678, in Venice, Italy and died on July 28,1741 in Vienna, Austria. He was nicknamed “the red priest” because of his red hair and the fact that he had been ordained as a priest at St. Mark’s Chapel in Venice in 1703. Because of poor health, he was excused from active service as a priest in 1704.
Of the composers of the Baroque Period (1600-1750) in music, Vivaldi is most remembered for his concertos ‑ he wrote over 500! Most of his concertos were for the violin (The Four Seasons are but 4 of more than 230) but he also wrote concertos for other instruments, such as: viola (6), cello (27), mandolin (2), trumpet, oboe (17), bassoon (37) and, of course, the flute (16 - including 3 for Piccolo and 2 for Recorder).
Although for almost 200 years after his death, Vivaldi’s music fell into virtual obscurity, his influence on the solo concerto was widespread. His use of three movements (fast, slow, fast) and ritornello form (a refrain, alternating with solo episodes) was copied and developed by his successors.
Vivaldi only assigned opus numbers to his published works. In 1733, after Opus 12, he stated that he wasn’t going to publish any further because it interfered with the sale of his manuscripts (from which he received more money). The Il Pastor Fido, Op. 13 (The Faithful Shepherd) Flute Sonatas are considered spurious, constructed from parts of works by Vivaldi, in addition to Joseph Meck (1690-1758) and Giuseppe M. Alberti (1685-1751). The Alberti Bass pattern, used by Vivaldi and other Baroque and Classical composers is named for Domenico Alberti (1710-1740, no relation to Giuseppe), who was the first composer to employ it.
OPUS 10
Despite the fact that there are only 12 opus numbers, Vivaldi published more that 100 works, in that each opus contains multiple works, usually 12. Opus 10 is a collection of 6 Flute Concertos published in 1729-30 in Amsterdam ‑ the first flute concertos ever published. Four of the Opus 10 concertos were also given descriptive titles and/or nicknames.
OPUS 10 FLUTE CONCERTOS
Op. 10, No. 1 - Concerto in F Major - La Tempesta Di Mare (Storm At Sea)
Op. 10, No. 2 - Concerto in G Minor - La Notte (The Night)
Op. 10, No. 3 - Concerto in D Major - Il Cardellino (The Goldfinch)
Op. 10, No. 4 - Concerto in G Major
Op. 10, No. 5 - Concerto in F Major - Con Sordino (With Mute)
Op. 10, No. 6 - Concerto in G Major
In addition to Vivaldi’s assigned Opus numbers, there are 3 common methods of identifying his music:
FANNA Numbers
In conjunction with the Italian music publisher Ricordi’s publishing of a complete edition of Vivaldi’s music in 1947, Antonio Fanna organized the works into 16 volumes by instrumentation - the 6th volume (Fanna VI) contains 16 Flute Concertos - including 2 for Recorder and 3 for Piccolo (Flautino). A 17th Concerto (Fanna VI, No. 17) is now considered “doubtful”.
PINCHERLE Numbers
French musicologist Marc Pincherle (1888-1974) published an extensive biography of Vivaldi the following year (1948, Vivaldi: Genius of the Baroque), and a numbered list of works (P. numbers).
RYOM Numbers (RV)
A more complete list was published in 1974 by Peter Ryom: Verzeichnis der Werke Antonio Vivaldis (A Catalogue of the Works of Antonio Vivaldi) which assigns each piece an RV (for “Ryom Verzeichnis”) number.
Vivaldi’s Flute Concertos
sorted by Fanna numbers
Fanna VI, No. 1 RV 442 (related to RV 434) Concerto in F Major for Recorder
Fanna VI, No. 2 RV 533 Pincherle No. 76 Concerto in C Major for 2 Flutes
Fanna VI, No. 3 RV 427 Pincherle No. 203 Concerto in D Major for Flute
Fanna VI, No. 4 RV 443 Pincherle No. 79 Concerto in C Major for Piccolo
Fanna VI, No. 5 RV 444 Pincherle No. 78 Concerto in C Major for Piccolo
Fanna VI, No. 6 RV 438 Pincherle No. 118 Concerto in G Major for Flute
Fanna VI, No. 7 RV 440 Pincherle No. 80 Concerto in A Minor for Flute
Fanna VI, No. 8 RV 436 Pincherle No. 140 Concerto in G Major for Flute
Fanna VI, No. 9 RV 445 Pincherle No. 83 Concerto in A Minor for Piccolo
Fanna VI, No. 10 RV 429 Pincherle No. 205 Concerto in D Major for Flute
Fanna VI, No. 11 RV 441 Pincherle No. 440 Concerto in C Minor for Recorder
Fanna VI, No. 12 RV 433 Pincherle No. 261 Concerto in F Major for Flute Op. 10, No. 1
Fanna VI, No. 13 RV 439 Pincherle No. 342 Concerto in G Minor for Flute Op. 10, No. 2
Fanna VI, No. 14 RV 428 Pincherle No. 155 Concerto in D Major for Flute Op. 10, No. 3
Fanna VI, No. 15 RV 435 Pincherle No. 104 Concerto in G Major for Flute Op. 10, No. 4
Fanna VI, No. 16 RV 437 Pincherle No. 105 Concerto in G Major for Flute Op. 10, No. 6
Vivaldi’s Flute Concertos
sorted by Ryom numbers (RV)
RV 427 Concerto in D Major for Flute Fanna VI, No. 3 Pincherle No. 203
RV 428 Concerto in D Major for Flute Fanna VI, No. 14 Pincherle No. 155 Op. 10, No. 3
RV 429 Concerto in D Major for Flute Fanna VI, No. 10 Pincherle No. 205
RV 433 Concerto in F Major for Flute Fanna VI, No. 12 Pincherle No. 261 Op. 10, No. 1
RV 434 Concerto in F Major for Flute *related to RV 442 Pincherle No. 262 Op. 10, No. 5
RV 435 Concerto in G Major for Flute Fanna VI, No. 15 Pincherle No. 104 Op. 10, No. 4
RV 436 Concerto in G Major for Flute Fanna VI, No. 8 Pincherle No. 140
RV 437 Concerto in G Major for Flute Fanna VI, No. 16 Pincherle No. 105 Op. 10, No. 6
RV 438 Concerto in G Major for Flute Fanna VI, No. 6 Pincherle No. 118
RV 439 Concerto in G Minor for Flute Fanna VI, No. 13 Pincherle No. 342 Op. 10, No. 2
RV 440 Concerto in A Minor for Flute Fanna VI, No. 7 Pincherle No. 80
RV 441 Concerto in C Minor for Recorder Fanna VI, No. 11 Pincherle No. 440
RV 442 Concerto in F Major for Recorder Fanna VI, No. 1 *related to RV 434
RV 443 Concerto in C Major for Piccolo Fanna VI, No. 4 Pincherle No. 79
RV 444 Concerto in C Major for Piccolo Fanna VI, No. 5 Pincherle No. 78
RV 445 Concerto in A Minor for Piccolo Fanna VI, No. 9 Pincherle No. 83
RV 533 Concerto in C Major for 2 Flutes Fanna VI, No. 2 Pincherle No. 76
*The only difference between RV 434 and RV 442 is the 2nd Movement. In 1729 Vivaldi wrote instructions for the publisher to transpose the 2nd movement of the Recorder Concerto RV 442 up a tone to be used as the Flute Concerto Opus 10, No. 5 (RV 434). Fanna did not assigned a number to the “new” Flute Concerto version (RV 434) while Pincherle did not assign a number to the original Recorder Concerto version (RV 442).
All of the above are currently available
individually (clicking on any link opens a new page)
Solo part with CD - $14.95
(containing SmartMusic® smp Files* of the Full Orchestra Accompaniment)
*an active SmartMusic® subscription is needed to play smp files
(sold separately) Piano Accompaniment with Audio CD - $9.95
in addition
Vivaldi’s Complete Flute Concertos (in 3 Volumes)
Solo part ($29.95 each volume)
Volume 1 - Opus 10 Concertos (6 Flute concertos)
RV 428, 433, 434, 435, 437 & 439
Volume 2 - 6 Flute Concertos
RV 427, 429, 436, 438, 440 & 533 (for 2 Flutes)
Volume 3 - 2 Recorder and 3 Piccolo Concertos
RV 441, 442, 443, 444 & 445
(sold separately) Piano Accompaniment
in 3 Volumes with Audio CD - $19.95 each volume
Solo part with AUDIO CD
also includes:
Complete Orchestral Score, MIDI Files, Practise suggestions, Historical background, etc.
In Two Volumes ($19.95 each):
A. Vivaldi - Six Flute Concertos (Op. 10) ‑ Volume 1
Opus 10, No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5
A. Vivaldi - Six Flute Concertos (Op. 10) ‑ Volume 2
Opus 10, No. 2 , No. 4 and No. 6
