Vivaldi’s Sinfonia in G, RV 149 is one of the few Vivaldi works that can be tied to a time and place. On March 21, 1740, the Pietà put on a lavish concert in honor of prince-elector Frederick Christian, son of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Not surprisingly, the event showcased Vivaldi. Four of his instrumental works were performed, and presentation copies of all four scores were bound together with a dedication to the prince-elector and presented to him. Tonight’s sinfonia is called “the choir of the Muses” because it was performed before a cantata with that title by the Neapolitan composer Gennaro D’Alessandro, who had been appointed maestro di capella at the Ospedale in August 1739 and would be dismissed in May 1740, to disappear from history.