- Info: This piece is the second movement of Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, 'L'inverno' (Winter). It's part of The Four Seasons (Italian: Le quattro stagioni), a group of four violin concerti by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, each of which gives a musical expression to a season of the year.
- Sheet music for violin. Info: This piece is the first movement of Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, 'L'inverno' (Winter). It's part of The Four Seasons (Italian: Le quattro stagioni), a group of four violin concerti by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, each of which gives a musical expression to a season of the year. The Four Seasons is the best known of Vivaldi's works.
- The Four Seasons (Italian: Le quattro stagioni) is a group of four violin concerti by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, each of which gives musical expression to a season of the year.
- Sound sample of an extraordinary handmade copy of a Stradivarius violin made outside of Paris circa 1870. The piece is an excerpt from Antonio Vivaldi's Fou.
Conductor and Violinist Rachell Ellen Wong leads the Seattle Symphony for the complete performance for Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, on Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 7:30pm on Seattle Symphony Live.
ANTONIO VIVALDI
The Four Seasons, group of four violin concerti by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, each of which gives a musical expression to a season of the year. Vivaldi published the concerti with accompanying poems that elucidated what it was about those seasons that his music was intended to evoke.
Le quattro stagioni (“The Four Seasons”), Op. 8, Nos. 1-4
La primavera (“Spring”), RV 269 Allegro—Largo—Allegro: Danza pastorale
L'estate (“Summer”), RV 315 Allegro non molto—Adagio—Presto
L'autunno (“Autumn”), RV 293 Allegro—Adagio molto—Allegro
L'inverno (“Winter”), RV 297 Allegro non molto—Largo—Allegro
BORN: March 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy
DIED: July 28, 1741 in Vienna, Austria
WORK COMPOSED: 1716–1725
Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) famously said, “There are no words, there is only music there.” And yet, ironically, Vivaldi’s best-known work, Le Quattro stagioni (“The Four Seasons”), Op. 8, Nos. 1–4, is based upon a series of sonnets. These concerti can arguably be considered among the first truly programmatic pieces; that is, music that tells or follows a narrative. Although Vivaldi composed a wide range of genres, his concerti endure as one of his greatest contributions to the Western classical canon.
Vivaldi lived and worked in Baroque Venice. He was an ordained Catholic priest as well as a composer. For nearly thirty years he taught music and composed for an orphanage in the town, named Ospedale della Pietà. Vivaldi crafted an immense œuvre of concerti during this period, exploring the potential of conversations between soloist and orchestra. Although he did not compose The Four Seasons for the orphanage, the works were undoubtedly influenced by his compositions from that period.
Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons between 1716 and 1725. A typical Vivaldi concerto includes three movements, but there is only one sonnet to accompany each of the seasons. As a result, the sonnet breaks into three sections to follow the individual movements. As you listen to these concerti, let your imagination wander and fill with images. The first movement ofLa primavera (“Spring”), RV 269, arguably the most famous of Vivaldi’s works, reads: “Springtime is upon us. The birds celebrate her return with festive song, and murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes. Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven. Then they die away to silence, and the birds take up their charming songs once more.” Many cues in this sonnet appear in the music, such as the celebrating bird in the solo violin and the murmuring streams in the string accompaniment. The second movement continues: “On the flower-strewn meadow, with leafy branches rustling overhead, the goat-herd sleeps, his faithful dog beside him.” In this Largo, pay attention to the branches rustling overhead in the ensemble and the slow breathing of the faithful dog. The final movement brings the frivolity and joy of spring: “Led by the festive sound of rustic bagpipes, nymphs and shepherds lightly dance beneath the brilliant canopy of spring.”
Following the whimsical wonders of spring is the intense heat and fierce thunderstorms found in L’estate (“Summer”), RV 315. The first movement begins with a slow introduction that reflects the opening lines of the sonnet: “Beneath the blazing sun’s relentless heat, men and flocks are sweltering, pines are scorched.” When the solo violin enters, however, the piece suddenly becomes fast and furious. During this movement, listen for the violin imitating the sounds of birds and Vivaldi’s subtle transition to the promise of a storm: “We hear the cuckoo’s voice; then sweet songs of the turtle dove and finch are heard. Soft breezes stir the air, but threatening north winds sweeps them suddenly aside. The shepherd trembles, fearful of violent storms and what may lie ahead.” The brief second movement features a slow meditation, highlighting the shepherd’s anxiety: “His limbs are now awakened from their repose by fear of lightning's flash and thunder's roar, as gnats and flies buzz furiously around.” Following this moment of reflection, the dramatic third movement brings the storm: “Alas, his worst fears were justified, as the heavens roar and great hailstones beat down upon the proudly standing corn.” Listen for the solo violin mimicking the rain pouring down while the accompanying orchestra plays bursts of thunder and lightning.
The subsequent concerto, L’autunno (“Autumn”), RV 293, celebrates the harvest with rousing dances and hunts. Listen for a lively dance in the first movement depicting the end of the harvest and the solo violin mimicking an overflowing cup of wine: “The peasant celebrates with song and dance for the harvest safely gathered in. The cup of Bacchus flows freely and many find their relief in deep slumber.” In contrast, the second movement brings peace and sleep: “The singing and the dancing die away as cooling breezes fan the pleasant air, inviting all to sleep without a care.” Vivaldi paints this serene picture with a slow tempo and harmonious chords. All instruments move together — including the solo violin — to transport listeners into a tranquil state. The third movement, however, features an exhilarating hunt: “The hunters emerge at dawn, ready for the chase, with horns and dogs and cries. Their quarry flees while they give chase. Terrified and wounded, the prey struggles on, but, harried, dies.” Listen for the strings imitating hunting horns, guns and dogs while the solo violin leads the chase.
Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons concludes with biting winds and idyllic images by the fire in L’inverno (“Winter”), RV 297. Imagine the brisk chill of winter upon you in the joyful first movement: “Shivering, frozen mid the frosty snow in biting, stinging winds; running to and fro to stamp one’s icy feet, teeth chattering in the bitter chill.” The runs in the solo violin perfectly encapsulate the brisk chill found in the air. In contrast, the second movement transfers indoors: “To rest contentedly beside the hearth, while those outside are drenched by pouring rain.” The solo violin presents a lyrical, reflective melody as the strings play simple accompaniment underneath. Vivaldi layers images in this movement, adding plucking strings in the background as a subtle nod to the rain outside. The final movement of tonight’s program is a fast and frenzied depiction of winter’s dangers: “We tread the icy path slowly and cautiously, for fear of tripping and falling. Then turn abruptly, slip, crash on the ground and, rising, hasten on across the ice lest it cracks up. We feel the chill north winds course through the home despite the locked and bolted doors. This is winter, which nonetheless brings its own delights.” The solo violin begins with runs before the strings join in for an ominous illustration of cracking ice and bracing winds. The concerto concludes with the solo violin scampering indoors in attempts to escape the winter frigidity.
Scored for solo violin; harpsichord; theorbo; strings
© 2020 Megan Francisco
Posted on October 15, 2020
The Amsterdam Sinfonietta is an ensemble that is comfortable with both old and new repertoire, and often performes contemporary music. The concert I saw was right in the middle of a tour with violinist Sergey Khachatryan featuring Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Tchaikovksy’s Souvenir de Florence, but at the Muziekgebouw the program was different; instead of Vivaldi we were treated to Prokofiev’s Vision Fugitives (arranged by Rudolf Barshai) and the world première of Arthur Aharonian’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with star violinist Sergey Khachatryan.
Sergei Prokofiev’s Visions Fugitives was originally a suite for piano, but Rudolf Barshai (famous for his orchestrations of Shostakovich’s string quartets) turned them into beautiful pieces for chamber orchestra. In the introductory talk by cellist Michiel Weidner we learnt that the orchestration is in fact quite ingenious: the original Visions Fugitives have a lot of subtle elements to it that Barshai managed to enlarge while still doing the works justice. The Visions Fugitives were a charming and enticing way to open tonight’s program.
4 Seasons Violin Concerto
Arthur Aharonian was unknown to me before this concert; he is an Armenian composer living in Paris, and it was solo violinist Sergey Khachatryan that suggested him to the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. Aharonian’s Violin Concerto No. 2 was written especially for Khachatryan and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, for violin, strings and percussion. The concerto would comfortably fit into the repertoire of 20th-century Russian violin concertos (particularly those of Shostakovich and Prokofiev), as it has a very similar feel. It just so happens that that is exactly the kind of music I love and judging by the crowd’s enthusiastic reaction I was not the only one. The work is played without breaks, and allowed Khachatryan to show off his prodigious skill. I find Khachatryan one of the best solo violinists playing at the moment – his playing quite easily moves me to tears and any composer would be lucky to have him as solo violinist. But again, I do not want to take anything away from the violin concerto. It was turbulent and yet contained some incredibly beautiful cadenzas for the violin. In particular the first cadenza took my breath away – it was melodically powerful and still understated. This cadenza was one of the few calm moments in the music, the energy and pace were kept at a high level throughout the piece, with all the different parts weaving through each other, with tension and just a hint of discomfort that made the piece all the more interesting. I hope that it will at least be recorded by Khachatryan and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta because it does deserve much more than one listen and one performance.
One of the first things you notice when you go to a concert by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta is that they play standing up (apart from the cellos). This seems to really enhance their playing – they are incredibly dynamic and energetic and all the musicians are quite obviously deeply involved with the music. The Aharonian and Tchaikovksy pieces especially benefited from this approach – under the leadship of concertmaster Candida Thompson (there was no conductor), both these pieces became more lively, although it made me wish that I, as an audience member, could be standing up as well and move along with the orchestra.
Tchaikovksy’s piece Souvenir de Florence will be surprising if you are used to the Tchaikovksy of the piano concerto and symphonies. It is much lighter, more Italian. Tchaikovksy loved Italy and the country inspired quite a few of his pieces, including the Capriccio Italien, and he in fact started writing Souvenir de Florence while he was in Florence. It was originally written for string sextet, but the Amsterdam Sinfonietta performed it in double that size. The work is chock-full of melodies that linger in your head, particularly the last movement, and the pleasure the Amsterdam Sinfonietta had while playing it was tangible and lifted everything to a higher level.
Unfortunately the Amsterdam Sinfonietta is one of the ensembles most affected by the arts cuts in the Netherlands, and they will soon lose 30% of their income. After performances like these you cannot help but wonder how such decisions are justified – the Amsterdam Sinfonietta bring something unique to the stage that would be sorely missed.
See full listingThe 4 Seasons Violin Concerto In F Minor
4 Seasons Violin
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