ponte de la pietà - passacaglia per violino e doppia orchestra

Rijnvos, Richard

Abstract

This work – a passacaglia for solo violin and twin orchestra – is part of the cycle entitled la Serenissima, a series of compositions dedicated to the city of Venice and its shadows. The work features the ‘Ponte de la Pietà’, situated halfway along the Riva degli Schiavoni. Beside this arched footbridge is the ‘Ospedale della Pietà’: a former orphanage for illegitimate girls, foundlings and newborn daughters of disadvantaged families. Founded in the year 1346, its buildings only partially survive today. Crossing the bridge, babies could be left at the convent via a hatch. One still finds a plaque on the church threatening with damnation parents who tried to pass off their children as orphans. By the late seventeenth century, the Ospedale operated a renowned music school in addition to its orphanage. In the autumn of 1740, the Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi – having served as ‘maestro di violino’ at the Ospedale for almost forty years – crossed the ‘Ponte de la Pietà’ for the last time, never to return to his hometown. He set off for Vienna, hoping to work for Charles VI. However, the Habsburg sovereign died unexpectedly, and no one else in Vienna was interested in employing the “Red Priest”. By the end of July the following year, Vivaldi himself died. He was accorded the cheapest possible funeral and was buried in a pauper’s grave. The passacaglia ponte de la pietà was commissioned by NTR ZaterdagMatinee, with financial support from the Performing Art Fund NL. It was written for Pekka Kuusisto (violin) and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic. The first performance by them, Michael Schønwandt conducting, took place during the ZaterdagMatinee concert series, 5 March 2010, in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. The premiere was recorded by both Dutch Radio and TV. The television broadcast (November 2011) was preceded by an NTR Podium documentary on the making of ponte de la pietà, shot in Venice, Hilversum and Amsterdam.

Citation

Rijnvos, R. (2010). ponte de la pietà - passacaglia per violino e doppia orchestra. [score]

• Other Type: Composition
• Online Publication Date: Mar 5, 2011
• Publication Date: 2010
• Deposit Date: Sep 28, 2013
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1681930
• Additional Information: Duration: 20 minutes