il Prete Rosso

Just rediscovered this - my favorite since I was 18:

Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 3 No. 6 (RV 356)

Antonio Vivaldi

From L'Estro Armonico ('Harmonic Inspiration', a set of 12 concerti published by Vivaldi as his Opus 3.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SIqYp6Ehzo

Interesting thought - since this was first published in 1711, it may well have been first performed by an all-female ensemble!:

"Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage for poor and illegitimate children where Vivaldi worked between 1703 and 1740."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi
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