Though three of the concerti are wholly original, the first, "Spring", borrows patterns from a sinfonia in the first act of Vivaldi's contemporaneous opera Il Giustino. The Four Seasons is the best known of Vivaldi's works. They were published in 1725 in Amsterdam, together with eight additional concerti, as Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione ( The Contest Between Harmony and Invention). These were composed around 1718−1720, when Vivaldi was the court chapel master in Mantua. The Four Seasons ( Italian: Le quattro stagioni) is a group of four violin concertos by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, each of which gives musical expression to a season of the year. Try Renato Fasano's "Virtuosi di Roma" on an bargain-priced EMI double-disc filled out by other concertos by Vivaldi and Corelli, or the always delightful "I Musici" on the Philips label.Antonio Vivaldi (engraving by François Morellon de La Cave, from Michel-Charles Le Cène's edition of Vivaldi's Op. Or you might listen to one of the Italian chamber orchestras that did so much to reclaim Vivaldi's good name in the 1950s and '60s. It works in all three.įor the intimate approach on modern instruments, try Sir Neville Marriner with violinist Alan Loveday on the new Penguin label. Le Quattro Stagioni" comes in three interpretive "flavors": a small orchestra playing modern instruments, a small ensemble performing on 18th-century instruments or the lush, Technicolor versions employing a larger complement of symphonic strings.
To get to know the work, I'd recommend hearing it in its original format for violin and string orchestra. Indeed, you can find versions of Vivaldi's four celebrated violin concertos arranged for flute, recorder, solo guitar, guitar ensemble, two pianos, brass quintet and even the harp.
A staggering array of choices awaits you in the CD bins should you decide to take a "Four Seasons" home with you for repeated listening.
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