The Four Seasons

	"La primavera" (Spring) — Movement 1: Allegro from The Four Seasons A 2000 live performance by Wichita State University Chamber Players.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The Four Seasons (Italian: Le quattro stagioni) is a set of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Composed in 1723, The Four Seasons is Vivaldi's best-known work, and is among the most popular pieces of Baroque music. The texture of each concerto is varied, each resembling its respective season. For example, "Winter" is peppered with silvery staccato notes from the high strings, calling to mind icy rain, whereas "Summer" evokes a thunderstorm in its final movement, which is why said movement is often dubbed 'Storm'.

The concertos were first published in 1725 as part of a set of twelve concerti, Vivaldi's Op. 8, entitled Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The Contest between Harmony and Invention). The first four concertos were designated Le quattro stagioni, each being named after a season. Each one is in three movements, with a slow movement between two faster ones. At the time of writing The Four Seasons, the modern solo form of the concerto had not yet been defined (typically a solo instrument and accompanying orchestra). Vivaldi's original arrangement for solo violin with string quartet and basso continuo helped to define the form.

List of concertos and movements

• Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269, "La primavera" (Spring)
  1. Allegro
  2. Largo
  3. Allegro Pastorale
• Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 8, RV 315, "L'estate" (Summer)
  1. Allegro non molto
  2. Adagio e piano - Presto e forte
  3. Presto
• Concerto No. 3 in F major, Op. 8, RV 293, "L'autunno" (Autumn)
  1. Allegro
  2. Adagio molto
  3. Allegro
• Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, "L'inverno" (Winter)
  1. Allegro non molto
  2. Largo - actually, this movement is in E-flat major, and the only movement that violins I and II (not solo) pizzicato, except in the ending with whole notes.
  3. Allegro

Sonnets and allusions

Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Four Seasons Sonnets

The four concertos were written to go along with four sonnets. Though it is not known who wrote these sonnets, there is a theory that Vivaldi wrote them himself. This makes sense because each sonnet is broken down into three sections, each section corresponding to a movement in the concerto. The Four Seasons can therefore be classified as program music, music that intends to evoke something extra-musical.^[1]

In addition to these sonnets, Vivaldi provided instructions such as "The barking dog" (in the second movement of "Spring"), "Languor caused by the heat" (in the first movement of "Summer"), and "the drunkards have fallen asleep" (in the second movement of "Autumn").

The Four Seasons are, therefore, tone poems. Together they are an enduring example of program music. It is often referenced in popular culture.

Media

Recordings

The first recording of The Four Seasons is a matter of some dispute. There is a CD of one recording made by Alfredo Campoli (Pearl GEMM CD 9151) which is taken from acetates of a French radio broadcast. These acetates are thought to date from early in 1939. The first proper electronic recording was made in 1942, conducted by Bernardino Molinari and, though his adaptation is somewhat different from what we have come to expect from modern performances, it is clearly recognizable. This Molinari recording was first issued on six double-sided 78s, then on LP in 1950 and now re-issued on CD (two versions are available, one with more extensive sleeve notes giving the political background). The first commercially successful recording was I Musici's 1955 recording (it was that ensemble's first recording of any music). This recording renewed such interest in the work that there are now more than 300 recordings of it.

References

External links

• The Four Seasons: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Free scores of The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi at Mutopia Project
• Spring Concerto Allegro, Largo, Allegro interactive hypermedia (Shockwave required) at the BinAural Collaborative Hypertext
• An in-depth overview and comparison of recordings of the Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi on WETA 90.9's website
• Program notes on the Four Seasons on Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's website