Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Me too! In fact my lab book was once stolen from the lab, with three fresh write-ups in it! Fortunately I had handed it up before it was stolen and the lab lecturer (reluctantly) agreed that I didn't have to do them again.
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Yes indeed, but when one listens one can actually hear that there is no brass, woodwind or timpany....it was written only for strings and continuo. But it is something that people rarely get.....interesting, isn't it?Diapason wrote:That's exactly it! It's quite shocking, and it makes me wonder why the HIP movement took so long to come round to the idea of using smaller forces. This is NOT music for large orchestras.Ciaran wrote: It's almost chamber music when you see the score, isn't it?
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
The Four Seasons
(This is the bit where I blather on pointlessly. Feel free to skip a few paragraphs!)
It's hard to know where to start with The Four Seasons, because I seem to have been aware of it for as long as I can remember. Well, I say that, but in reality I've known the first few bars of Spring for as long as I can remember, the rest came quite a bit later. My earliest proper memory of it was during early piano lessons, when I bought a new collection that featured a transcription of the 3rd movement of Autumn for easy piano. Reading the book's contents for the first time I was sure I'd know it, because everybody knows The Four Seasons, right? In reality, I didn't recognise it at all, I had never heard that movement before, and it slowly dawned on me that there might be more to The Four Seasons than Spring!
Interestingly, TFS was my first introduction to the minefield of buying classical recordings. Having listened to a friend's copy of Nigel Kennedy on tape, driving through France in a coach at the small hours of the morning, I decided that I needed to buy it. However, on venturing into Virgin Megastore I was told by the helpful and knowledgeable staff member running the Classical Department (remember those days...?!) that Nigel Kennedy might not be the top choice. What?! But that's the one I've been hearing about! The Popular One! It's new! It must be the best…! Eventually, I was persauded to buy the Salvatore Accordo recording for £14.99, making it my most expensive classical purchase to date at that time. It had 3 rosettes in the Penguin Guide and it was therefore my pride and joy. I told anyone who'd listen that Nigel Kennedy's version WASN'T the best, Salvatore Accardo's was!
Time has moved on quite a bit since then, and most of the classical music that captured my attention at a young age has long since fallen by the wayside (Pachelbel's sodding Canon? What was I thinking?!!) However, I still really enjoy The Four Seasons, I still admire its combination of accessibility and invention, I still think it's a great example of “popular” classical music done right. Of course, that's not to say I ever listen to it any more. Well, until now…
Salvatore Accardo
For years this was my one and only recording of TFS, for the simple reason that I didn’t feel any need to buy another. The disc is designed as an homage to Stradivarius, with 4 different Strads played in the 4 different concertos, recorded live (although without applause or any crowd noise) at a festival in Cremona. The concept appealed to me, and my burgeoning hifi nerdiness loved the idea of having a system good enough to discern the differences in the 4 violins. The performance itself was exactly what I was looking for: not too stately or serious, lively, played with reasonably small forces, and without Kennedy’s eccentricities in Autumn. The harpsichord playing was particularly notable for its invention and prominence (at that point I was still tickled by the use of harpsichord within the orchestra), and the violin sound was lovely. Who wouldn’t enjoy it?
Fabio Biondi
Much much later I picked up the (first) Biondi recording at a knock-down price. Despite enjoying Biondi in other repertoire, and despite hearing great things about his performance here, I decided early on that it wasn’t for me. His Four Seasons sounded eccentric, like he was trying too hard to be different, I didn’t get his phrasing, the continuo playing wasn’t nearly as inventive as I was used to, the violin sounded scratchy, not beautiful. All told, it stayed on the shelf unlistened to most of the time. I knew I should enjoy it, but I didn’t.
Don’t worry, these are no longer my views!
Having listened to both recordings again over the last few weeks, it’s hard to understand what I was thinking back then. Of the two recordings, Biondi is so clearly the first choice it’s not even funny. He imbues this music with so much life, the musical line ebbs and flows with such style, the players are so unified it’s almost a different work altogether. While Accardo plays beautifully and the recording is fine, he sounds dated in comparison, too conservative in many ways, and that inventive harpsichord playing that I used to love now just sounds…strange! Under Accardo the music sounds sedate, but Biondi and his group play with BALLS. There are moments where, if I’m honest, I find Biondi gets a little bogged down in all this new-found detail and the music loses a little of its forward momentum, but it’s not a problem. Biondi definitely has something to say here, he has a clear view of what this music should be, and it’s incredibly refreshing and convincing.
So how do I feel about this music having listened to it extensively for the first time in years? As I mentioned upthread, reading the score has been a revelation. As always, the dots on the page are only half the battle when it comes to interpretation, but to my eyes this music is definitely designed for small forces, not for lush, massed strings. I’m a complete believer in the HIP dogma anyway, but the “older” style performance seems especially perverse here. That said, and as usual with music from the Baroque period, an awful lot is left to the player and not explicitly described in the score. I think it’s telling that Vivaldi included the poems detailed earlier at various stages in the score, because they give some indication that Vivaldi is expecting far more than just the notes played straight-down-the-middle. It’s this spirit that suffuses Biondi’s reading, as he goes much further than Accardo in creating a variety of effects and moods over and above the printed notes. He truly reads between the lines, and I find the results simultaneously exciting and convincing.
But I still don’t get the slow movement of Autumn…
(This is the bit where I blather on pointlessly. Feel free to skip a few paragraphs!)
It's hard to know where to start with The Four Seasons, because I seem to have been aware of it for as long as I can remember. Well, I say that, but in reality I've known the first few bars of Spring for as long as I can remember, the rest came quite a bit later. My earliest proper memory of it was during early piano lessons, when I bought a new collection that featured a transcription of the 3rd movement of Autumn for easy piano. Reading the book's contents for the first time I was sure I'd know it, because everybody knows The Four Seasons, right? In reality, I didn't recognise it at all, I had never heard that movement before, and it slowly dawned on me that there might be more to The Four Seasons than Spring!
Interestingly, TFS was my first introduction to the minefield of buying classical recordings. Having listened to a friend's copy of Nigel Kennedy on tape, driving through France in a coach at the small hours of the morning, I decided that I needed to buy it. However, on venturing into Virgin Megastore I was told by the helpful and knowledgeable staff member running the Classical Department (remember those days...?!) that Nigel Kennedy might not be the top choice. What?! But that's the one I've been hearing about! The Popular One! It's new! It must be the best…! Eventually, I was persauded to buy the Salvatore Accordo recording for £14.99, making it my most expensive classical purchase to date at that time. It had 3 rosettes in the Penguin Guide and it was therefore my pride and joy. I told anyone who'd listen that Nigel Kennedy's version WASN'T the best, Salvatore Accardo's was!
Time has moved on quite a bit since then, and most of the classical music that captured my attention at a young age has long since fallen by the wayside (Pachelbel's sodding Canon? What was I thinking?!!) However, I still really enjoy The Four Seasons, I still admire its combination of accessibility and invention, I still think it's a great example of “popular” classical music done right. Of course, that's not to say I ever listen to it any more. Well, until now…
Salvatore Accardo
For years this was my one and only recording of TFS, for the simple reason that I didn’t feel any need to buy another. The disc is designed as an homage to Stradivarius, with 4 different Strads played in the 4 different concertos, recorded live (although without applause or any crowd noise) at a festival in Cremona. The concept appealed to me, and my burgeoning hifi nerdiness loved the idea of having a system good enough to discern the differences in the 4 violins. The performance itself was exactly what I was looking for: not too stately or serious, lively, played with reasonably small forces, and without Kennedy’s eccentricities in Autumn. The harpsichord playing was particularly notable for its invention and prominence (at that point I was still tickled by the use of harpsichord within the orchestra), and the violin sound was lovely. Who wouldn’t enjoy it?
Fabio Biondi
Much much later I picked up the (first) Biondi recording at a knock-down price. Despite enjoying Biondi in other repertoire, and despite hearing great things about his performance here, I decided early on that it wasn’t for me. His Four Seasons sounded eccentric, like he was trying too hard to be different, I didn’t get his phrasing, the continuo playing wasn’t nearly as inventive as I was used to, the violin sounded scratchy, not beautiful. All told, it stayed on the shelf unlistened to most of the time. I knew I should enjoy it, but I didn’t.
Don’t worry, these are no longer my views!
Having listened to both recordings again over the last few weeks, it’s hard to understand what I was thinking back then. Of the two recordings, Biondi is so clearly the first choice it’s not even funny. He imbues this music with so much life, the musical line ebbs and flows with such style, the players are so unified it’s almost a different work altogether. While Accardo plays beautifully and the recording is fine, he sounds dated in comparison, too conservative in many ways, and that inventive harpsichord playing that I used to love now just sounds…strange! Under Accardo the music sounds sedate, but Biondi and his group play with BALLS. There are moments where, if I’m honest, I find Biondi gets a little bogged down in all this new-found detail and the music loses a little of its forward momentum, but it’s not a problem. Biondi definitely has something to say here, he has a clear view of what this music should be, and it’s incredibly refreshing and convincing.
So how do I feel about this music having listened to it extensively for the first time in years? As I mentioned upthread, reading the score has been a revelation. As always, the dots on the page are only half the battle when it comes to interpretation, but to my eyes this music is definitely designed for small forces, not for lush, massed strings. I’m a complete believer in the HIP dogma anyway, but the “older” style performance seems especially perverse here. That said, and as usual with music from the Baroque period, an awful lot is left to the player and not explicitly described in the score. I think it’s telling that Vivaldi included the poems detailed earlier at various stages in the score, because they give some indication that Vivaldi is expecting far more than just the notes played straight-down-the-middle. It’s this spirit that suffuses Biondi’s reading, as he goes much further than Accardo in creating a variety of effects and moods over and above the printed notes. He truly reads between the lines, and I find the results simultaneously exciting and convincing.
But I still don’t get the slow movement of Autumn…
Nerdcave: ...is no more! 
Sitting Room: Wadia 581SE - Rega Planar 3/AT VM95ML & SH - Bluesound Node II - Copland CSA 100 - Audioplan Kontrast 3
Kitchen: WiiM Pro - Wadia 151 - B&W 685s2
Sitting Room: Wadia 581SE - Rega Planar 3/AT VM95ML & SH - Bluesound Node II - Copland CSA 100 - Audioplan Kontrast 3
Kitchen: WiiM Pro - Wadia 151 - B&W 685s2
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Great post Simon; well written after due consideration.
It is interesting that you mention Accardo. That is one that I do not own yet but I have bought it recently and it is winging its way as we speak. I am curious to hear it even though it is "Old School".
It is interesting that you mention Accardo. That is one that I do not own yet but I have bought it recently and it is winging its way as we speak. I am curious to hear it even though it is "Old School".
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Simon, that is one great post, I enjoyed reading every bit of it. My heart sank when you dismissed 'Fabulous' Biondi early on but you certainly redeemed him later and your descriptions were vivid, well done.
"To appreciate the greatness of the Masters is to keep faith in the greatness of humanity." - Wilhelm Furtwängler
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
This is a very simple movement whose sole purpose is to describe the uneasy sleep of drunkards. I am sure that one has had the odd similiar experience in one's life....draw from personal experience or use your imagination if one has had a abstemious past LOL!!Diapason wrote:But I still don’t get the slow movement of Autumn…
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Thank you gentlemen. Fergus, your description of the 'meaning' of that movement certainly helps (and I am familiar with the feeling) but I still don't really get it musically. It just sounds like filler between 2 faster movements.
Regarding Accardo, it certainly isn't an old school recording, and I still admire and enjoy it. There's really a lot to recommend it, it's just much more conservative than Biondi, but then again, most other recordings are.
Regarding Accardo, it certainly isn't an old school recording, and I still admire and enjoy it. There's really a lot to recommend it, it's just much more conservative than Biondi, but then again, most other recordings are.
Nerdcave: ...is no more!
Sitting Room: Wadia 581SE - Rega Planar 3/AT VM95ML & SH - Bluesound Node II - Copland CSA 100 - Audioplan Kontrast 3
Kitchen: WiiM Pro - Wadia 151 - B&W 685s2
Sitting Room: Wadia 581SE - Rega Planar 3/AT VM95ML & SH - Bluesound Node II - Copland CSA 100 - Audioplan Kontrast 3
Kitchen: WiiM Pro - Wadia 151 - B&W 685s2
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
thanks Simon... that's a great review, and well worth the wait!
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Thank you Simon. The Accardo is one that has been on my List for a long time and the thread obviously prompted me to finally buy it. I do look forward to hearing it.Diapason wrote:Regarding Accardo, it certainly isn't an old school recording, and I still admire and enjoy it. There's really a lot to recommend it, it's just much more conservative than Biondi, but then again, most other recordings are.
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
I better post my last offering before the month's out.
"To appreciate the greatness of the Masters is to keep faith in the greatness of humanity." - Wilhelm Furtwängler