Vivaldi's well-travelled works

Vivaldi never visited Germany, but his works had a strong influence on German composers. The Saxon State Library in Dresden holds numerous copies that served as models for Johann Sebastian Bach, among others – an important source of inspiration for the Thomaskantor, who never travelled to Italy. The court in Darmstadt also took a keen interest in Vivaldi's music. Christoph Graupner, Kapellmeister in Darmstadt from 1709, had many of Vivaldi's works copied. His own compositions show clear influences, and Vivaldi's concertos enriched the repertoire of the court orchestra, whose musicians later went on to shape the Mannheim orchestra. Philipp von Hessen-Darmstadt appointed Vivaldi court conductor in Mantua and commissioned, among other works, the opera »Tito Manlio,« from which copies of the arias found their way into the Darmstadt archives. Clemens Flick and his ensemble follow in the footsteps of Vivaldi's influence in Germany.