Vivaldi’s Four Seasons… The Essential Facts

Those of you following our Facebook and Twitter pages may have seen that last weekend, some members of the Southern Sinfonia team were determined to listen to The Four Seasons by Vivaldi.

The Four Seasons is a piece that has become embedded in our collective consciousness, it’s loved by those invested in classical music and recognised by those that aren’t. If you went outside now and asked 10 people if they knew the piece (a task that may earn you some strange looks) they wouldn’t all say yes. If however, you hummed those first, famous notes (something that would possibly would lead to even stranger looks!) you would hear more people say yes.

Below is the essential information about the piece; perfect for expanding the knowledge of those that only recognise the first few notes:

• In 1725, The Four Seasons was published in a set of twelve concerti entitled Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The Test of Harmony and Invention).
• Vivaldi wanted the music to portray the events and emotions of the seasons, dividing the piece into concertos representing spring, summer, autumn and winter. Now known as “program music”, The Four Seasons was arguably the first piece to focus on this style, doing so in strong, illustrative detail.
• The music is an interpretation of 4 sonnets, whilst it is not specifically stated that Vivaldi wrote these sonnets as well, it is widely believed that he did because the words and music are so entwined.
• King Louis XV became very fond of the spring concerto, ordering it to be performed on numerous occasions.
• It has been debated often, but a recording of violinist Alfredo Campoli performing during a French radio broadcast in 1939 is widely considered to be the first recording of the piece.
• Recordings by Bernardino Molinari, Louis Kaufman and Felix Ayo followed, with a 1989 recording by Nigel Kennedy and the English Chamber Orchestra going on to sell over two million copies.
• Extracts from the Four Seasons have appeared numerous times in popular culture. It can be heard in popular television shows such as The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory and Grey’s Anatomy as well as films such as Halloween II, What Lies Beneath and A View to Kill.

Why did we want to listen to the piece over the last weekend? The answer is also the most essential piece of information - a truly stunning piece of music never leaves your consciousness, no matter how many times you’ve heard it or discussed it. When someone mentions The Four Seasons, you can close your eyes and hear the fierce thunder and the birds celebrating spring’s return, making you want to select your choice recording and listen again!

To see a series of visual images representing The Four Seasons, click here to explore a collection uploaded to our blog last year. 

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