"Jacob turning the mandolin into alive and breathing instrument, exciting in its sound like a violin and expressing itself like a human voice" Noam Ben Zeev YOU MUST SEE JACOB REUVEN LIVE IN CONCERT. HE IS COMPLETELY INFECTIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family (plucked, or strummed). It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard (the top) comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single round or oval sound hole. A round or oval sound hole may be bordered with decorative rosettes, but usually does not feature an intricately carved grille like a Baroque era mandolin. Like many composers of the time, the final years of Vivaldis life found him in financial difficulties. His compositions were no longer held in such high esteem as they once were in Venice; changing musical tastes quickly made them outmoded. In response, Vivaldi chose to sell off sizeable numbers of his manuscripts at paltry prices to finance his migration to Vienna.[36] The reasons for Vivaldis departure from Venice are unclear, but it seems likely that, after the success of his meeting with Emperor Charles VI, he wished to take up the position of a composer in the imperial court. On his way to Vienna, Vivaldi may have stopped in Graz to see Anna Girò.[37] It is also likely that Vivaldi went to Vienna to stage operas, especially <b>…<b>