La cetra, Op. 9

• La cetra is a collection of twelve concertos for 1 or 2 violins and string orchestra, which Vivaldi had published in Amsterdam in 1727. 
• Vivaldi dedicated this set to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. Vivaldi had met the emperor twice in in Italy in September of 1728. The meetings were socially and financially beneficial for Vivaldi, who received a golden chain and medallion from the emperor, and probably a gift of money as well.¹
• “La cetra” means “the cithara” (which is a type of Greek lyre). 

Contents 

1. Violin Concerto in C Major, RV 181a 
2. Violin Concerto in A Major, RV 345 
3. Violin Concerto in g minor, RV 334 
4. Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 263a 
5. Violin Concerto in a minor, RV 358 
6. Violin Concerto in A Major, RV 348 
7. Violin Concerto in B-flat Major, RV 359 
8. Violin Concerto in d minor, RV 238 
9. Concerto for 2 Violins in B-flat Major, RV 530 
10. Violin Concerto in G Major, RV 300 
11. Violin Concerto in c minor, RV 198a 
12. Violin Concerto in b minor, RV 391²

1. Michael Talbot and Nicholas Lockey, “Vivaldi, Antonio,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed October 18, 2021,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040120. 
2. “La cetra, Op.9 (Vivaldi, Antonio),” IMSLP, accessed October 18, 2021, https://imslp.org/wiki/La_cetra,_Op.9_(Vivaldi,_Antonio).