Vivaldi: The Composer Who Defied Fate

Welcome to a new episode of Origins of Music. Antonio Vivaldi nearly died the day

he was born. The midwife baptized him at home immediately because his life hung by

a thread. Some accounts say an earthquake shook Venice that same morning,

adding chaos to an already dangerous delivery. Two months later, when the danger

passed, his family carried him to San Giovanni in Bragora, their parish church

in the Castello district, for a proper baptism. His father,

Giovanni Battista, had started out as a barber before becoming a professional violinist,

and he filled their modest home with music. Antonio grew up surrounded by siblings,