I concerti per due violini di Vivaldi (con edizione di RV 513, 521, 528, 764 e ricostruzione di RV 520, 526)

In the whole of Europe the most important composer of concertos for two violins is indubitably Vivaldi (1678-1741), who produced almost thirty works of this type during almost the full length of his creative career. The dissertation examines this particular side of Vivaldi’s activity, starting with an examination of the concerto in Rome, Bologna, and Venice at the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The aspects investigated include the ‘conceptual’ origins of the double concerto for two violins in Vivaldi, the nature, distribution and interrelationship of their sources (particular attention being given to compositional revisions in the autograph manuscripts) and an analysis of the works themselves that takes in form, tonal structure, technical-instrumental character and performance practice. The concertos that have come down in particularly problematic non-autograph sources are discussed in detail and presented in critical editions. A reconstruction is offered of the two works (RV 520 and 526) that have survived only in incomplete form, lacking the part of the first soloist. The concertos for two violins composed in Germany by Telemann and J. S. Bach, the contemporaries of Vivaldi who paid greatest attention to the double concerto genre, are then described and analysed. The thesis ends with a complete list of modern editions of Vivaldi’s concertos for two violins and a select discography.

Evidence-based polytherapies and long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction in very old subjects compared with elderly and adults: a nested case-control study

Background: Clinical trials have demonstrated that selected secondary prevention medications for patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) reduce mortality. Yet, these medications are generally underprescribed in daily practice, and older people are often absent from drug trials. Objectives: To examine the relationship between adherence to evidence-based (EB) drugs and post-AMI mortality, focusing on the effects of single therapy and polytherapy in very old patients (≥80 years) compared with elderly and adults (<80 years). Methods: Patients hospitalised for AMI between 01/01/2008 and 30/06/2011 and resident in the Local Health Authority of Bologna were followed up until 31/12/2011. Medication adherence was calculated as the proportion of days covered for filled prescriptions of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), β-blockers, antiplatelet drugs, and statins. We adopted a risk set sampling method, and the adjusted relationship between medication adherence (PDC≥75%) and mortality was investigated using conditional multiple logistic regression. Results: The study population comprised 4861 patients. During a median follow-up of 2.8 years, 1116 deaths (23.0%) were observed. Adherence to the 4 EB drugs was 7.1%, while nonadherence to any of the drugs was 19.7%. For both patients aged ≥80 years and those aged <80 years, rate ratios of death linearly decreased as the number of EB drugs taken increased. There was a significant inverse relationship between adherence to each of 4 medications and mortality, although its magnitude was higher for ACEIs/ARBs (adj. rate ratio=0.60, 95%CI=0.52–0.69) and statins (0.60, 0.50–0.72), and lower for β-blockers (0.75, 0.61–0.92) and antiplatelet drugs (0.73, 0.63–0.84). Conclusions: The beneficial effect of EB polytherapy on long-term mortality following AMI is evident also in nontrial older populations. Given that adherence to combination therapies is largely suboptimal, the implementation of strategies and initiatives to increase the use of post-AMI secondary preventive medications in old patients is crucial.