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Classical Fact

Antonio Vivaldi spent most of this career as music master at the Pieta Orphanage where orphaned and abandoned girls were given a home and taught music. Vivaldi wrote over 500 concertos for them, including The Four Season. The girls gave concerts that were the highlight of musical life in Venice. It was said the Pieta had the most disciplined orchestra in Italy. Since they performed in a church, no applause was allowed. Instead people expressed their enthusiasm by coughing, shuffling their feet and blowing their noses loudly.