The Vivaldi Project

About The Vivaldi Project

The Vivaldi Project is a premier period instrument ensemble dedicated to presenting 17th- and 18th-century string repertoire. The name, The Vivaldi Project, refers not only to the group's core repertoire―the extraordinary works of the virtuoso violinist and composer, Antonio Vivaldi―but also theproject of probing into the roots of Vivaldi's distinctive musical style. Vivaldi's innovative contributions to string writing, the concerto genre, and programmatic orchestral music place him as as a pivotal figure between earlier baroque composers and later classical composers. The Vivaldi Project explores this link through both chamber and orchestral works (those well-known and beloved as well as those rarely heard) from Stradella, Legrenzi, and Corelli, to J.S. Bach and his sons, and ultimately to Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.

It is the central belief of the Vivaldi Project that musical performances areEvents. Music from the 17th and 18th century was conceived at a time when its very existence depended on the personal and spontaneous expressions of live performers for live audiences. Highly rhetorical in nature, music was viewed as a language in its own right―just as capable of communicating ideas and emotions, only through melody and harmony rather than words. It is interaction with the audience which renders each performance unique, and at a Vivaldi Project concert, the audience becomes an essential part of the music-making process.

The Vivaldi Project, under the leadership of violinist Elizabeth Field and cellist Stephanie Vial, has been gaining critical acclaim for its brilliant and expressive string playing, as well as its innovative programming which combines scholarship and performance to both educate and delight audiences. The members and guest artists of The Vivaldi Project include leading soloists, concertmasters, teachers, and musical scholars in the Washington, DC area and around the country. Since it was founded by Field in 2006, the Vivaldi Project has performed throughout the DC area, and for the Washington and Boston Early Music Festivals. In 2010, the ensemble toured the Piedmont region of North Carolina with an unprecedented performance of all six of C.P.E. Bach's String Sinfonias, W. 182, under guest conductor John Hsu. The final live performance of these works at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC will be released on CD by Centaur Records on April 2, 2012.