(Photo: Amir Kaufmann) As a court composer in 1720s Vienna, Antonio Caldara occupied a unique position in Baroque music. His style—characterized by dense, contrapuntal orchestral textures, intricate imitative writing, and a strict avoidance of cheap theatrical indulgence—gives his operas and oratorios an almost scholarly quality. Much like Alessandro Scarlatti, Caldara was a master of deep psychological portraiture, yet his commitment {…}