Antonio Vivaldi: Spring

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (* March 4, 1678 in Venice;† July 28, 1741 in Vienna) was a Venetian composer and violinist in the Baroque period .

The Four Seasons (Italian: Le quattro stagioni) is probably Antonio Vivaldi's best-known work. It consists of four violin concertos with extra-musical programs; each concerto portrays a season. The individual concertos are each preceded by a sonnet - presumably written by Vivaldi himself; consecutive letters before the individual lines and in the corresponding places in the score assign the verbal description to the music.

Vivaldi had already repeatedly experimented with extra-musical programs, which are often reflected in his titles; however, the precise interpretation of individual passages in the score is unusual for him. His experience as a virtuoso violinist gave him access to particularly effective playing techniques; as an opera composer, he had developed a strong sense of effects; both of which stood him in good stead here.

As the title suggests, it is primarily natural phenomena that are imitated - gentle winds, violent storms and thunderstorms are elements that appear in all four concertos. In addition, there are various bird calls and even a dog, as well as human activities such as hunting, a peasant dance, skating, including stumbling and falling, and even the heavy sleep of a drunkard.

The work dates from 1725 and is preserved in two printed editions, which were apparently published more or less simultaneously in Amsterdam and Paris.