YouTube Watch: From Paraguay with love -- "Watch the First 54 Seconds. That's All I Ask. You'll Be Hooked" (Adam Albright-Hanna)

by Ken

This video (which, given its wide-screen format, you might want to watch on YouTube directly) came to me as a pass-along, from an upworthy.com post by Adam Albright-Hanna whose full title is:

"Watch the First 54 Seconds. That's All I Ask. You'll Be Hooked After That, I Swear" (Adam Albright-Hanna)"

It's at about 0:51 that the boy who has just described how his "cello" was constructed -- out of discarded scrap materials, starting with an oil can for the body of the instrument -- begins to play the opening Prelude of the Bach First Cello Suite. And sure enough, I was hooked.

I know there are messages being sent and lessons to be learned, but I really don't know how to amplify this. About the only thing I could think to add was a fuller representation of the music we hear:

BACH: Solo Cello Suite No. 1 in G, S. 1007:
i. Prelude

János Starker, cello. BMG, recorded June 1992

Or this very different take, by Mstislav Rostropovich, who when he finally got up his courage to recorded the Bach cello suites declared himself unfavorably disposed toward what he called the French habit of turning Bach's structural writing into sing-songy tunes.


Mstislav Rostropovich, cello. EMI, recorded March 1991

VIVALDI: The Four Seasons: I. Spring:
i. Allegro
ii. Largo
iii. Allegro

Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Szymon Goldberg, violin and cond. Philips, recorded Oct. 22-26, 1973

MOZART: Serenade in G, K. 525 (Eine kleine Nachtmusik):
i. Allegro
ii. Romanze: Andante
iii. Menuetto: Allegretto
iv. Rondo: Allegro

Vienna Philharmonic, Bruno Walter, cond. EMI, recorded Dec. 17, 1936 (digital transfer by F. Reeder)

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Sunday Classics preview: Given the resources at his disposal, Vivaldi's musical storms may be the most remarkable of all

This may not be quite the winter storm Vivaldi imagined, but we'll be hearing it in more traditional form in a moment.

by Ken

We began our exploration of storms imagined in music with the orchestral prototype, the thunderstorm embedded in Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and the storm of all operatic storms, the opening of Verdi's Otello -- with the "Royal Hunt and Storm" from Berlioz's epic opera The Trojans thrown in. We have a gaggle of musical storms on tap for Sunday's post, but tonight I thought we'd backtrack and rehear some music we've actually heard before: the storm movements from three of Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

(We heard them in one of my favorite Sunday Classics posts, November 2010's "I wonder whether Vivaldi would be surprised by the still-growing irresistibility of his Four Seasons," in which we managed to encompass the entire piece -- all four concertos, all 12 movements. By the way, I've just upgraded that post, which included "what may be the only Four Seasons you'll ever need," to Internet Archive's new format for music files, even though it meant replacing the code for 50 music files.)

We'll talk more Sunday about the idea of capturing storms in music, but for now let's just note that Vivaldi was doing it without many of the orchestral resources that later composers -- even Beethoven -- would rely on for their storm depictions. All he had at his disposal was the modest baroque orchestra.


TO HEAR THE THREE FOUR SEASONS
STORM MOVEMENTS, CLICK HERE

SUNDAY CLASSICS' MUSICAL STORMS

Preview: Tonight's musical selections should give you a good idea of Sunday's subject (January 13)
The thunderstorm movement from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and Otello's "Esultate" from Verdi's Otello
Stormy weather, part 1 (January 15)
Verdi's Otello, Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, and Berlioz's Les Troyens, plus Lena Horne singing "Stormy Weather"
Preview: Given the resources at his disposal, Vivaldi's musical storms may be the most remarkable of all (January 27)
The three storm movements from Vivaldi's Four Seasons
With the full symphony orchestra you can create a heckuva storm (aka: Musical storms, part 2) (January 29)
Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony (again), Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite, Johann Strauss II's Amid Thunder and Lightning polka, Richard Strauss's Alpine Symphony, Grieg's Peer Gynt incidental music, Britten's Peter Grimes, and Rossini's Barber of Seville
Preview: En route to more of our musical storms, we encounter perhaps the most eerily wonderful music I know (February 3)
The Preludes to Acts I and II of Wagner's Siegfried
Storms that set three great operatic scenes in motion (aka: Musical storms, part 3) (February 5)
The openings of Wagner's Die Walküre Act I and Siegfried Act III and of Act III of Puccini's La Bohème
Preview: En route to our final operatic storms, we hear two famous tenor tunes sung by a very famous tenor (February 24)
"La donna è mobile," the Quartet, and the Storm Scene from Act III of Rigoletto
Musical storms, part 4: We come to our raging storms from Janáček's Kátya Kabanová and Verdi's Rigoletto (February 26)
The storms from Act III of both operas, with a close-up look at how Verdi created the Rigoletto one -- plus the whole of Act III

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Sunday Classics: As the names remind us, the concerto and the sonata (and the sinfonia and the opera) came out of Italy

This is the YouTube poster's quite nice off-the-air VHS recording of the fine Korean violinist Kyung-Wha Chung playing the Largo of Bach's E major Violin Concerto in 1982.

"What can one say of the C-sharp minor Adagio [of Bach's E major Violin Concerto]? Is there not, far beyond the depth and profundity of this psalm, in which all grief and all bliss are united, everything that we are able to comprehend? Does there not wake in us a presentiment, an awe of the most holy mysteries, upon which no human word can touch?"

-- the uncredited annotator of Epic's U.S. issue of I Musici's
Philips recording of the Bach violin concertos

by Ken

Why don't we start with the performance of that Largo under annotation? It's from the same I Musici LP from which we heard first just the Largo (in Friday night's preview) and then the whole (in last night's preview) of Bach's D minor "Double" Violin Concerto, with then-violinist-members of the heart chamber ensemble Roberto Michelucci and Felix Ayo. Each violinist was assigned one of the two solo-violin concertos, and while Michelucci seems to me the more interesting violinist, he got the A minor Concerto. Still, Ayo isn't violinistic chopped liver.

BACH: Violin Concerto No. 2 in E, BWV 1042:
ii. Largo

Felix Ayo, violin; I Musici. Philips, recorded c1960

As long as we're here, we might as well hear the whole Bach E major Concerto. Which we'll do in the click-through.

TO HEAR THE WHOLE BACH E MAJOR CONCERTO, AND
CONCERTOS BY TELEMANN AND HANDEL, CLICK HERE

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Sunday Classics preview: Baroque composers, like musicians before and since, had it bad for Italy, Part 1

Another Winter: Giuliano Carmignola plays the last of Vivaldi's Four Seasons with Andrea Marcon conducting the Venice Baroque Orchestra from the harpsichord.

by Ken

One thing Bach and Handel, those champions of the Class of 1685, had in common was a passion for Italy, or at any rate the music that came out of Italians. Handel was a great traveler; Bach wasn't. But he too managed, even in those days before radios and records and easy air travel, to keep current on what was going on musically in the rest of Europe.

His passion for blessed-by-the sun Italian music was tremendous. Listen, for example, to the slow movement of Bach's ever-popular "Double" Concerto:

BACH: Concerto in D minor for Two Violins and Strings, BWV 1043:
ii. Largo

Roberto Michelucci and Felix Ayo, violins; I Musici. Philips, recorded c1960

I just don't think Bach could have written that without the sounds of Italy playing in his head. And no, it's not by accident that I chose this quintessentially Italian performance. No again, it's not "authentic" in performance style, but I have a good idea that Bach would be astonished that anyone would wish to listen to, let alone prefer, those imitation cat-screechings.


SHADES OF VIVALDI

Every now and then I get a post to come out more or less right, which is why tonight I'd like to direct attention back to the one I devoted a number of weeks ago to Vivaldi's Four Seasons (plus the two previews, one and two).

Yes, what was intended -- as so many of these posts originally were -- to be simple and to the point, and wound up being long and involved. But we had four remarkable concertos, covering the four seasons, to encompass, and overall considerations to consider, and I really wanted you to be able to zero in on the individual movements -- in particular the four slow ones -- as well as whole seasons/concertos as well as the piece as a whole. And in particular I wanted us to be able to hear an assortment of ways of hearing the music. In the end we heard, in various forms, all of four recordings and parts of three others -- not to mention the movement-by-movement commentaries offered by violinist Gil Shaham when he recorded the piece at the tender age of 22. On top of which I offered you "what may be the only Four Seasons recording you'll ever need," violinist-conductor Szymon Goldberg's with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.

And here again we're going to here an Italian performance, somewhat lusher in style, by the Virtuosi di Roma under Renato Fasano, And then, while we're at it, why don't we hear that luscious Goldberg-Philips recording again?

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE WITH THE FOUR SEASONS RECORDINGS

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Sunday Classics: I wonder whether Vivaldi would be surprised by the still-growing irresistibility of his "Four Seasons"

Itzhak Perlman plays my favorite movement from The Four Seasons: from Winter, the warm-and-toasty-indoors Largo, with Zubin Mehta conducting the Israel Philharmonic. Vivaldi's slow movements often have more internal rhythmic impulsion (though it may not be entirely evident in Maestro Mehta's slack hands) than most composers' fast movements, a lesson Mozart absorbed, and showed off in the great "Elvira Madigan" slow movement of his Piano Concerto No. 21.

by Ken

Yes, in case you hadn't figured it out, our Friday night and Saturday night Vivaldi-concerto previews were heading us toward the composer's undisputed blockbuster, the ever-irresistible Four Seasons.

The numbers on Vivaldi (1678-1841) are kind of staggering: more than 500 concertos, a sizable body of instrumental chamber music, 46 operas, and a boatload of sacred choral works. No doubt a substantial edge is given to the concertos that are part of the much-circulated published sets of 12: La Cetra, Op. 3; L'Estro armonico, Op. 4; Il Cimento dell'armonia e dell'invenzione, Op. 8; and La Cetra, Op. 9. Of course by far the best-known are the first four concertos of Op. 8, The Four Seasons. I don't know whether Vivaldi himself understood how special these pieces are -- how specially and personally they continue to reach out to listeners over nearly three centuries.

We're going to let the American violinist Gil Shaham talk us through these incredibly much-loved works, via spoken commentaries, generously illustrated on his trusty fiddle, which he recorded when, aged 22, he recorded The Four Seasons with the chamber orchestra Orpheus, in 1993. (We're also going to hear that recording, after hearing the individual movements of each concerto.)

Gil Shaham (then 22) introduces Vivaldi and The Four Seasons.

Gil may have been right about the four accompanying sonnets having been written by Vivaldi, but as far as I know there's no evidence of that. In fact, the last I heard, the general feeling was that the poems were written after the concertos. (Their form, not surprisingly for sonnets of Italian origin, is the 4-4-3-3 Petrarchan rather than the 4-4-4-2 Elizabethan.) However, the composer seems to have been familiar with them and accepted their connection to his concertos.) I've never paid much attention to the poems, but the imagery in them can be helpful, especially as regards the way Italians, or at least these Italians, experience the seasons -- summer in particular emerges as closer to an affliction than an idyll.

Anyway, I'm including the poems, in translations by Gwyn Morris (for EMI) which attempt to mirror the word order, and thus the sequence of thoughts, of the originals.

VIVALDI: Il Cimento dell'armonia e dell'invenzione

(The Contest Between Harmony and Invention), Op. 8:

Nos. 1-4, Le quattro stagioni

(The Four Seasons)

1. SPRING

Spring has come and joyfully
the birds greet her with merry song,
and brooks blown by the breezes,
sweetly murmuring begin to flow.

Then come, covering the air with a black mantle,
lightning and thunder, chosen to herald her,
and when they cease, the tiny birds
take up again their melodious song.

And after, on the pleasant, flowery meadow,
to the cherished sough of leafy boughs,
sleeps the goatherd with his faithful dog at his side.

To the joyous sound of the pastoral pipe,
nymphs and shepherds dance in the beloved cottage
at the shining appearance of spring.

Concerto No. 1 in E, RV 269,
La Primavera (Spring)

At this point in even a fairly slapdash performance the opening bars of Spring have such a galvanizing effect on me that I can't fairly reckon how much is the music itself and how much its promise of 40 minutes' worth of musical delight. Still, for all the buoyant pleasure of the concerto's outer movements, it is once again -- as with most of the other Vivaldi concertos we've heard these last two nights -- the slow movement that really rivets my attention, and hints at the passionate admiration felt for Vivaldi by his great Northern contemporaries Bach and Handel. Of course beautiful music had been written before, but I don't think it's too fanciful to suggest that Vivaldi showed European composers how music could really sing.

1. Spring:
i. Allegro

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969


TO CONTINUE READING ABOUT AND
LISTENING TO THE FOUR SEASONS --

please click through for the rest of Spring and the three remaining seasons (with many recordings, including what may be "the only Four Seasons you'll ever need") -- plus a bonus concerto.

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Sunday Classics preview: As promised, it's Vivaldi Double Concerto Night

Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman perform Vivaldi's D major Two-Violin Concerto, RV 512 (Allegro molto; Largo; Allegro), with music director Seiji Ozawa conducting at the Boston Symphony's 100th-anniversary concert, Oct. 10, 1981.

by Ken

In last night's preview, we heard a couple of Vivaldi concertos that did not feature string instruments in the solo group. As promised, it's Vivaldi Double Concerto Night tonight, with violin soloists all over the place. Anyone who's gotten the idea that Vivaldi concertos are "all the same," more or less, may be encouraged to reconsider by the startlingly different pieces we're hearing tonight.

VIVALDI: Concerto in A minor for Two Violins and Strings, RV 522

Violinist Kennedy provides brief Tweet-like movement-by-movement notes on all the works included on the all-Vivaldi CD that includes this concerto. Some of them are rather interesting. (Others not so much.)

i. Allegro

NIGEL KENNEDY: "This is strong, vibrant writing with refined touches. The forward energy of this movement is unrelenting."

ii. Larghetto e spiritoso

NIGEL KENNEDY: "In my opinion this is one of Vivaldi's most successful melodic movements. The two solo violins alternate between hushed conversational melodies and unanimous harmony over a hypnotic ostinato that has a feeling of introversion and timelessness."

iii. Allegro

NIGEL KENNEDY: "A fitting finale for any concerto. Virile and virtuosic playing is required from soloists and orchestra alike. Exciting and fast."

Isaac Stern and David Oistrakh, violins; Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, recorded Dec. 24, 1955
Nigel Kennedy and Daniel Stabrawa, violins; Berlin Philharmonic members, Nigel Kennedy, cond. EMI, recorded April 2002

Here's a distinctively brooding, lovely piece, with the added dimension of a solo cello added to the two violins, from the collection of 12 solo- and multiple-violin concertos published as Vivaldi's Op. 3. (Note the "three movement"-like structure of the first movement.)

VIVALDI: L'Estro armonico, Op. 3: No. 11, Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, Cello, and Strings, RV 565:
i. Allegro; Adagio; Allegro
ii. Largo
iii. Allegro
Nathan Milstein and Erica Morini, violins; Harvey Shapiro, cello; chamber orchestra. Capitol/EMI, recorded in New York, March 27, 1964
Jan Tomasow and Willi Boskovsky, violins; Richard Harand, cello; Vienna State Opera Chamber Orchestra, Mario Rossi, cond. Vanguard Bach Guild, recorded June 1957

And here's one last two-violin concerto -- an unusually grandiose one, I'd say, with in addition a bit of a wrinkle in our second performance.

VIVALDI: Concerto in B-flat for Two Violins and Strings, RV 524:
i. Allegro
ii. Andante
iii. Allegro
Josef Suk and Oldřich Vlček, violins; Virtuosi di Praga, Oldřich Vlček, dir. Supraphon, recorded Dec. 8-9, 1988
Jean-Pierre Rampal, flute; Isaac Stern, violin; Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, János Rolla, cond. CBS/Hungaroton, recorded Apr. 15-18, 1989


IN TOMORROW'S SUNDAY CLASSICS POST

Let's see . . . Vivaldi concertos last night and more Vivaldi concertos tonight -- where do you suppose this could be leading?

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Sunday Classics preview: Here's a Vivaldi concerto you're very likely to recognize

Yes, I know this is supposed to be a Vivaldi preview, but since below I describe Angel Romero (born 1946) as having "one of the most distinctively personal touches of any guitarist I know," I thought it might be fun to sample him in his native repertory. Here, at Boston Guitarfest 2009, he introduces and plays the "Fantasia" from the Andalusian Suite by his father, Celedonio Romero (1913-1996).

by Ken

Over the years I expect I've heard several hundred concertos by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), the Italian Baroque master who was a rough contemporary of the exact contemporaries Bach (1685-1750) and Handel (1685-1759), both of whom were well-acquainted with his work. I usually enjoy all those Vivaldi concertos, but I can't say there are a lot of them -- besides the obvious four -- which I return to regularly with delight.

For tonight's Vivaldi preview, we're hearing one Vivaldi concerto that does fit that bill, especially for its beautiful central Largo, which has made its way into the arsenal of the TV-radio commercial producers. We're going to start out with two performances of that Largo which I think you'll agree are pretty darned different.

The concerto was actually written for the lute, and we're going to hear it that way, in a period-instrument performance with lowered (A=415) pitch. But there are a lot more guitarists than lutenists out there, and guitarists know that they can appropriate anything written for lute, and first we're going to hear this Largo played on the guitar -- and not just that, but in an older-style, way more leisurely performance. Myself, I think the performance by Narciso Yepes (1927-1996) captures a whole expressive dimension that the more "authentic" performance doesn't.

VIVALDI: Concerto in D for Lute, and Strings, RV 93:
ii. Largo

Narciso Yepes, guitar; Paul Kuentz Chamber Orchestra, Paul Kuentz, cond. DG, recorded c1971
Paul O'Dette, soprano lute; The Parley of Instruments (Roy Goodman and Theresa Caudle, violins; Judy Tarling, viola; Mark Caudle, cello; Amanda MacNamara, bass; Peter Holman, chamber organ), Roy Goodman and Peter Holman, dir. Hyperion, recorded Dec. 1-2, 1984

Vivaldi concertos aren't exactly drawn-out affairs. The performance we're about to hear of the complete D major Lute Concerto, even with a 4½-minute-plus Largo, clocks in under 10 minutes. (Actually, the outer movements are a little driven for my taste.) The performance is by a distinguished representative of the legendary guitar-playing Romero family. Angel Romero has one of the most distinctive personal touches of any guitarist I know.

VIVALDI: Concerto in D for Lute, Strings, and Continuo, RV 93

i. Allegro
ii. Largo
iii. Allegro

Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Angel Romero, guitar and cond. BMG, recorded July 3-6, 1995


A BONUS VIVALDI CONCERTO: THE NIGHT

Vivaldi wrote concertos for just about every instrument you can imagine, and I thought we'd hear one that has the unusual feature of a slow first movement preceding the usual sequence of fast-slow-fast movements -- anticipating the fondness many of the great Classical- and Romantic-era composers would have for prefacing symphonic first movements in particular with a slow introduction.

VIVALDI: Concerto in G minor for Flute, Bassoon, and Strings, RV 104 (La Notte) (The Night)

i. Largo
ii. Presto, "Fantasmi" ("Phantoms")
iii. Largo, "Il Sonno" ("The Sun")
iv. Allegro

Julius Baker, flute; Karl Hoffmann, bassoon, Herbert Tachezi, harpsichord; I Solisti di Zagreb, Antonio Janigro, cond. Vanguard Bach Guild, recorded June 1964


IN TOMORROW NIGHT'S PREVIEW:
IT'S VIVALDI DOUBLE CONCERTO NIGHT

The solo instrument Vivaldi featured overwhelmingly most is the violin, frequently including more than one. Tomorrow night we're going to hear a couple of specimens of Vivaldi double concertos.

Then Sunday it's on to The Four Seasons.

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[11/19/2010] Sunday Classics preview: Baroque composers, like musicians before and since, had it bad for Italy (continued)

Raymond Cohen is the soloist, with the Montpellier Strings, in the bouncy concluding "Hunt" movement of Autumn.

Enough talk, here's our "new" Four Seasons, and our old friend. (Again, though, I encourage you to pay special attention to those four slow movements.)


VIVALDI: The Four Seasons
(Nos. 1-4 of The Contest Between Harmony and Invention, Op. 8)

1. Spring
(i. Allegro, [3:17] ii. Largo, [6:00] iii. Pastoral Dance)

2. Summer
(i. Allegro non molto, [5:38] ii. Adagio; Presto, [7:57] iii. Presto)

3. Autumn
(i. Allegro, [4:40] ii. Adagio molto, [7:05] iii. The Hunt)

4. Winter
(i. Allegro non molto, [3:44] ii. Largo, [6:05] iii. Allegro)

Luigi Ferro (in Spring and Autumn) and Guido Mozzato (in Summer and Winter), violins; Virtuosi di Roma, Renato Fasano, cond. EMI, recorded in London, 1959


VIVALDI: The Four Seasons

No. 1, Spring
(i. Allegro, ii. Largo, iii. Pastoral Dance)
No. 2, Summer
(i. Allegro non molto, ii. Adagio; Presto, iii. Presto)
No. 3, Autumn
(i. Allegro, ii. Adagio molto, iii. The Hunt)
No. 4, Winter
(i. Allegro non molto, ii. Largo, iii. Allegro)
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Szymon Goldberg, violin and cond. Philips, recorded Oct. 22-26, 1973


IN TOMORROW NIGHT'S PREVIEW --

Don't forget that, as the very names tell us, both the sonata and the concerto came out of Italy, which will be our theme for Sunday's main post.

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[11/7/10] Sunday Classics: I wonder whether Vivaldi would be surprised by the still-growing irresistibility of his "Four Seasons" (continued)

1. Spring:
ii. Largo

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

1. Spring:
iii. Danza pastorale (Pastoral Dance): Allegro

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

VIVALDI: The Four Seasons: 1. Spring
(i. Allegro, ii. Largo, iii. Pastoral Dance)

Gil Shaham, violin; Robert Wolinsky, harpsichord and organ continuo; Orpheus (chamber orchestra). DG, recorded December 1993

2. SUMMER

Beneath a harsh season kindled by the sun,
man, his flock languish and the pine burns;
the cuckoo gives voice, soon echoed
by the song of the dove and the goldfinch.

The breeze blows gently, but challenged,
the north wind moves suddenly near;
and the shepherd boy weeps, for he fears
a violent squall hovering, and his fate uncertain:

His weary limbs are robbed of sleep
by the dread of lightning, savage thunder
and raging swarms of flies and bluebottles.

Ah, alas, his fears are well-founded,
the heavens thunder and lighten, and hail
lops the ears of corn and the proud wheat.

Concerto No. 2 in G minor, RV 315,

L'Estate (Summer)

The fraught openings of both the first and second movements suggest the unease with which our musical observer anticipates the physical discomforts of Summer, and of course in the finale all hell breaks loose. Yes, Beethoven carried the idea of a musical storm to even greater heights in his Pastoral Symphony, but Vivaldi showed the way.

2. Summer:
i. Allegro non molto

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

2. Summer:
ii. Adagio; Presto

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

2. Summer:
iii. Presto

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

VIVALDI: The Four Seasons: 2. Summer
(i. Allegro non molto, ii. Adagio; Presto, iii. Presto)


Gil Shaham, violin; Robert Wolinsky, harpsichord and organ continuo; Orpheus (chamber orchestra). DG, recorded December 1993

3. AUTUMN

The country lad celebrates with dancing and singing
the great pleasure of a fine harvest
and so many, flushed with the juice of Bacchus,
and their enjoyment in sleep.

The temperate air which gives pleasure
makes everyone abandon song and dance,
it is the season which invites so very many
to enjoy to the full the sweetest sleep.

Huntsmen ride out for the chase at first light
with horns, guns, and hounds.
The beast flees, and they follow the scent;

Already frightened and wearied amid
the din of guns and hounds, wounded, it tries
weakly to escap, but, overcome, it dies.

Concerto No. 3 in F, RV 293,

L'Autumno (Autumn)

With temperate Autumn our musical observer is back in his comfort zone, as reflected most notably in the rollicking outer movements. The joyful (sorry, the word just seems inescapable) hunt movement was one of my early favorites in The Four Seasons, and I wonder now whether any poor creatures are even caught. There seems to be just such pleasure in all that out-of-doors activity.

3. Autumn:
i. Allegro

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975
Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

3. Autumn:
ii. Adagio molto

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

3. Autumn:
iii. La Caccia (The Hunt): Allegro

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

VIVALDI: The Four Seasons: 3. Autumn
(i. Allegro, ii. Adagio molto, iii. The Hunt)


Gil Shaham, violin; Robert Wolinsky, harpsichord and organ continuo; Orpheus (chamber orchestra). DG, recorded December 1993

4. WINTER

Trembling, frozen in black frost
in the icy blast of a bitter wind,
Hurrying, stamping your feet at every step;
with chattering teeth because of the excessive cold,

Spending quiet, contented days at the fireside
while the rain outside soaks to the skin;
walking on the ice, treading slowly
and carefully for fear of falling;

Slipping and sliding, falling down,
then again along the ice and racing
until the ice breaks and opens;

To feel, rushing out of closed doors,
south and north wind and all the winds at war --
this is winter, but such that it brings joy.

Concerto No. 4 in F minor, RV 297,

L'Inverno (Winter)

With the tempests of Winter the composer pulls out all the dramatic stops to bring his Seasons to a bracing climax. But as I noted in the caption up top, for me there's nothing quite like the hearthside pleasure of curling up by the fire inside.

4. Winter:
i. Allegro non molto

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

4. Winter:
ii. Largo

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975
Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

4. Winter:
iii. Allegro

Gil Shaham's commentary:

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

VIVALDI: The Four Seasons: 4. Winter
(i. Allegro non molto, ii. Largo, iii. Allegro)


Gil Shaham, violin; Robert Wolinsky, harpsichord and organ continuo; Orpheus (chamber orchestra). DG, recorded December 1993

NOW WE HAVE A COMPOSITE PERFORMANCE
OF THE COMPLETE FOUR SEASONS

VIVALDI: The Four Seasons

1. Spring
(i. Allegro, ii. Largo, iii. Pastoral Dance)

Knut Johannesen, harpsichord; Trondheim Soloists, Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin and cond. DG, recorded in Copenhagen, May 1999
2. Summer
(i. Allegro non molto, ii. Adagio; Presto, iii. Presto)

Arthur Grumiaux, violin; Les Solistes Romands, Arpad Gérecz, cond. Philips, recorded Nov. 10-12, 1978
3. Autumn
(i. Allegro, ii. Adagio molto, iii. The Hunt)

Joseph Siilverstein, violin; Mark Kroll, harpsichord; Boston Symphony Orchestra members, Seiji Ozawa, cond. Telarc, recorded Oct. 10, 1981
4. Winter
(i. Allegro non molto, ii. Largo, iii. Allegro)

Berlin Philharmonic members, Nigel Kennedy, violin and cond. EMI, recorded April 2002


AND NOW WE HAVE WHAT MAY BE THE ONLY
FOUR SEASONS YOU'LL EVER NEED

Renewing acquaintance with this extraordinary performance has been a joy and a wonder -- not least for the wonder of how much joy it packs. It's uncanny how richly each of these 12 movements is imagined and how vividly and richly expressed. There are other musical choices to be made, but none many that sing more, well, joyfully, and it would be hard to imagine playing more beautiful and alive than Szymon Goldberg offers both as soloist and as steward of his fine chamber ensemble, or a more beautiful recording job.

VIVALDI: The Four Seasons

No. 1, Spring
(i. Allegro, ii. Largo, iii. Pastoral Dance)

No. 2, Summer
(i. Allegro non molto, ii. Adagio; Presto, iii. Presto)

No. 3, Autumn
(i. Allegro, ii. Adagio molto, iii. The Hunt)

No. 4, Winter
(i. Allegro non molto, ii. Largo, iii. Allegro)

Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Szymon Goldberg, violin and cond. Philips, recorded Oct. 22-26, 1973


BONUS CONCERTO: "THE" VIVALDI A MINOR CONCERTO

This one's for all onetime student violinists -- and the unlucky souls who had to live around them -- who've done time with "the" Vivaldi A minor Violin Concerto, or an arrangement thereof. Here's the original, from the same set as the A minor Concerto for two violins and cello we heard last night.

VIVALDI: L'Estro armonico, Op. 3:
Concerto No. 6 in A minor, RV 356
i. Allegro
ii. Largo
iii. Presto

Arthur Grumiaux, violin; New Philharmonia Orchestra, Edo de Waart, cond. Philips, recorded Sept. 1-5, 1970


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[1/27/12] Preview: Given the resources at his disposal, Vivaldi's musical storms may be the most remarkable of all (continued)

The storm movement from Vivaldi's Winter again, in more expected form -- with soloist Itzhak Perlman and Zubin Mehta conducting the Israel Philharmonic


HERE ARE THE FOUR SEASONS STORM MOVEMENTS,
WITH RELEVANT BITS OF THE ACCOMPANYING POEMS

The performances are the same ones we heard of the individual movements of the concertos in the November 2010 Four Seasons post, but of course there we heard a whole bunch of other performances of the complete concertos, not to mention the complete Four Seasons.

VIVALDI: Il Cimento dell'armonia e dell'invenzione (The Contest Between Harmony and Invention), Op. 8: Nos. 1-4, Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons)

Concerto No. 1 in E, Spring:
i. Allegro

Then come, covering the air with a black mantle,
lightning and thunder, chosen to herald her,
and when they cease, the tiny birds
take up again their melodious song.

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Summer:
iii. Presto

The heavens thunder and lighten, and hail
lops the ears of corn and the proud wheat.

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969

Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Winter:
iii. Allegro non molto

Trembling, frozen in black frost
in the icy blast of a bitter wind,
Hurrying, stamping your feet at every step;
with chattering teeth because of the excessive cold . . .

Josef Suk, violin; František Xaver Thuri, harpsichord; Prague Chamber Orchestra, Libor Hlaváček, cond. Supraphon, recorded Apr. 13-16, 1975

Alan Loveday, violin; Colin Tilney, harpsichord and organ continuo; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Argo/Decca, recorded September 1969


IN THIS WEEK'S SUNDAY CLASSICS POST

We have musical storms by Ferde Grofé, Richard Strauss, Edvard Grieg, Benjamin Britten, and Gioacchino Rossini (plus an oddly un-stormy thunder display from the pen of Johann Strauss II).


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