Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins in B Minor, opus 3, no. 10, was published in 1711 in L'estro armonica ("The Harmonic Fancy"), a set of 12 concertos for various instruments. This particular concerto was probably written for a performance at L'Ospedale della Pieta, a school for orphaned and indigent girls in Venice, where Vivaldi taught and composed for over twenty years. The first movement (lowered a whole step from the original key and edited by the arranger) provides a wonderful virtuosic showcase for four solo cellos and string orchestra.
