Le Quattro Stagioni
The Four Seasons
by Antonio Vivaldi
Ancient Theatre, Tuesday 25th August 2020 @ 9.30 pm
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. They were written around 1716–1717 and published in 1725 in Amsterdam.
They were a revolution in musical conception: in them Vivaldi represented flowing creeks, singing birds (of different species, each specifically characterized), a shepherd and his barking dog, buzzing flies, storms, drunken dancers, hunting parties from both the hunters’ and the prey’s point of view, frozen landscapes, and warm winter fires.
Unusually for the period, Vivaldi published the concerti with accompanying sonnets (possibly written by the composer himself) that elucidated what it was in the spirit of each season that his music was intended to evoke. The concerti therefore stand as one of the earliest and most detailed examples of what would come to be called program music—i.e., music with a narrative element. Vivaldi took great pains to relate his music to the texts of the poems, translating the poetic lines themselves directly into the music on the page. For example, in the middle section of “Spring”, when the goatherd sleeps, his barking dog can be heard in the viola section. The music is elsewhere similarly evocative of other natural sounds. Vivaldi divided each concerto into three movements (fast–slow–fast), and, likewise, each linked sonnet into three sections.
Direction
Giulio Plotino
Orchestra and technical Staff
Teatro Massimo Bellini of Catania
PROGRAMME
Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269, “Spring” (La primavera)
Allegro (in E major); Largo e pianissimo sempre (in n C♯ minor); Allegro pastorale (in E major)
Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 8, RV 315, “Summer” (L’estate)
Allegro non molto (in G minor); Adagio e piano – Presto e forte (in G minor); Presto (in G minor)
Concerto No. 3 in F major, Op. 8, RV 293, “Autumn” (L’autunno)
Allegro (in F major); Adagio molto (in D minor); Allegro (in F major)
Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, “Winter” (L’inverno)
Allegro non molto (in F minor); Largo (in E♭ major); Allegro (in F minor)
The Program may vary by adding:
Serenade No. 6 for Orchestra in D major K 239
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Marcia. Maestoso (D major), Minuetto (D major), Rondò. Allegretto (D major)
TICKETS on boxol.it
Cavea – sector 1, central > € 22,00
Cavea – sector 2, intermediate > € 16,50
Cavea – sector 3, lateral > € 11,50
MORE INFO
Fondazione Taormina Arte > www.taoarte.it – info@taormina-arte.com – T. 0039 391 746 2146
WHERE TO STAY
Hotel La Pensione Svizzera (reopening in 2021) – Hotel Villa Schuler – Hotel Villa Ducale – Hotel Villa Carlotta
