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Just for a moment try to put every shopping trip you've ever made
out of your head. Imagine a different world. Imagine that all the
goods for sale are locked away in cabinets and to handle them, or
even to examine them closely, you need to ask a shop assistant to
open it up for you. Imagine that within seconds of entering a store
a floorwalker approaches you and asks if you're planning to buy
something - then, when you say "I'm just looking," rudely tells you
to leave. Imagine any attempt to return faulty or unsuitable goods
being met with ridicule, obstruction or a flat refusal to help you.
Until the late 19th century people didn't have to imagine that; it
was reality. For anyone alive today a visit to the average store
back then would convince you that they didn't really want to sell
you anything. The idea of customer service was an alien one. Stores
sold things. If you wanted to buy them, fine. If you didn't they
weren't really interested. Browsing was strongly discouraged and
impulse buys were almost unheard of. Shopping was something you did
when you had to. It certainly wasn't something anyone enjoyed.
Then, in the late 1880s, one man came along and changed all that.
His name was Harry Gordon Selfridge and this is the story of his
life.
Born in Venice, Italy, Antonio Vivaldi was one of the most
influential and highly regarded Baroque composers, although his
fame blazed only briefly. He is most remembered for his concertos,
particularly "The Four Seasons," but his overall production was
enormous, ranging from orchestral and vocal music for both secular
and church settings, as well as opera scores and libretti. In
addition, Vivaldi was a master violinist and spent much of his
career as an instructor at a famous institution for girls, the
Hospital of Mercy. He was educated as a priest, but poor health and
probably a lack of interest in the calling encouraged him to follow
another path in life. During his lifetime, the red-haired virtuoso
and opera impresario was easily among the most famous musicians in
Italy; this fame eventually extended throughout civilized Europe.
His name was sufficient to open doors to the richest and most
powerful people in the Western world. Before his death, however,
his heyday had long passed. After an extended period of obscurity,
the music of Vivaldi underwent a revival in the early 20th century.
This book is Vivaldi's incredible story.
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