In recent years the smooth textures and elegant solo violin playing that have long characterized “Four Seasons” performances have given way to brash, high-energy readings that focus on the earthiness of Vivaldi’s country revelers rather than the courtliness of the set’s earliest listeners. That said, “The Four Seasons” has benefited, like other ubiquitous Baroque and Classical works, from the early music world’s constant redefinition of period sound and style. Surely both camps find common ground in the belief that with so many recordings of “The Four Seasons” to choose from lists 241 versions currently in print an ensemble needs a strong reason to jump into the competition. Some listeners find this is the cat’s meow (or, given Vivaldi’s intentions for the viola line in the slow movement of “Spring,” the dog’s woof) others acknowledge the realism but argue that music should be beyond that sort of trickery and should deal in grander concepts, more abstractly. And for anyone with doubts about what Vivaldi hoped to show, a set of accompanying sonnets describes the action.
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.SOME people hate Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” for pretty much the same reasons others love it: it is an exceptionally vivid example of musical picture painting, complete with thunderstorms (two of them), rustic partying (including overt drunkenness), a hunt, crunching ice and a crackling fire. 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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