Vivaldi: 6 Concerti per violoncello

The "Pietà", along with the "Mendicanti", the "Incurabili", and the "Ospedaletto", was one of| the four Venetian institutes that, designated to take care of orphan girls, became centers of musical instruction that were widely acclaimed in all of Europe. This church on the Riva degli Schiavoni, a few steps from the Doge's Palace and from the Bragora parish, in which Vivaldi was baptised, was a not-to-be-missed spot on the itineraries of all music-loving visitors. They eagerly took part in the masses loaded with concertos, motets, psalms, and sacred compositions of every type that were composed for the "putte" of the Ospedale by the various composers who worked for the institute.

The concertos written for the Pietà are the ones that require the greatest virtuosity, which demonstrates the extremely high level reached by the soloists there. Along with those of Leonardo Leo, these are the without doubt examples of the most sophisticated Italian cello writing of the 18th century and constitute an important chapter in the rich mine of the Red Priest's musical compositions, a mine which, despite the unjust and overly simplistic accusations of mechanical repetitivity made against the great Venetian, never stops presenting surprising innovations.