The Four Seasons
Antonio Vivaldi's timeless masterpiece, The Four Seasons, has been enchanting audiences for centuries and a performance of it at the Oratorio di Santa Maria Vergine della Croce al Tempio in Florence is no exception. This quartet of violin concerti is inspired by the passing season of each year. The event, in a pleasant gothic building, also features works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach plus another popular piece by Vivaldi. This auditorium is one of Florence's most historic and charming concert venues, a place that is ideal for the Baroque and classical music that features on the programme.
The Four Seasons concerti were published in Amsterdam in 1725 but scholars agree that Vivaldi wrote them some years before, perhaps as early as 1720. The exact date of when they were first performed is not known, however. As well as the continued success of The Four Seasons as a part of the modern concert hall repertoire, the music is historically important. Together, the concerti represent one of the first examples in Western music of a narrative being introduced into an orchestrated work – what is nowadays referred to as programme music.
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart follows. This piece was only published following the composer's death and was officially designated as Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K 525. Like The Four Seasons, it is considered a form of chamber music but as the name of the piece suggests, it has a light touch, one that was probably composed to be as entertaining and engaging as it was as a serious work. It is a breezy, four-movement composition that delights audience-goers whenever it is performed.
Vivaldi's music comes next on the programme. His Concerto for Strings in G Major, RV 151, is a three-movement piece more often known as Concerto alla rustica. The piece was composed sometime in the 1720s although its exact completion date is unknown. It is likely, however, that its premiere took place at the court of the Ottoboni family in Rome. Along with the usual string arrangement for a chamber music piece, this work is also scored for a pair of oboes which make their presence felt in the final movement, an allegro.
The second movement of Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068, completes the concert. It is often referred to by its more familiar title, Air on the G String, but this actually refers to an arrangement of Bach's original work by August Wilhelmj. The German violinist transposed Bach's famous melody down so it could be played on just one string of the violin, hence its name.
With four such well-known and much-admired pieces of music, this chamber music event in the heart of Florence provides great musical entertainment.