Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Felix Ayo (2022-26 Remastered, Studio 1959)
1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
Total length: 00:44:00
Venice, the violin, and Antonio Vivaldi — the three are inseparable; and nowhere more than in these violin concertos, The Four Seasons, does one find such perfect harmony. The Four Seasons are, as is well known, one of the masterpieces of “program music.” Each of us lives to the slow and inexpressible rhythm of the earth and the heavens, and that is why this music, which so wonderfully depicts the cycle of the seasons, finds such a deep resonance within us.
What could be more natural than this “Spring,” where one hears birds singing in the rustling foliage, streams murmuring, and shepherds dozing or dancing? What could be gentler than this “Summer,” in the languid heat of Italy, where the song of the cuckoo, softened by drowsiness, seems to come from afar, before the violent winds of the storm threaten the long-awaited harvest? Or this “Autumn,” with the drunken songs of the reapers and the dances of the hunters? Or again this “Winter,” whose colors make us shiver with cold, struggle against the wind, slip on the snow, and even fall into the frozen water? It is therefore hardly surprising that The Four Seasons have enjoyed worldwide and uninterrupted success since their publication in Amsterdam around 1725.
After giving their first public concert in 1952, a group of twelve students from the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome decided to form an ensemble: I Musici. They immediately met with great success and soon became professional musicians. In their very first year they toured Europe and made extremely promising appearances at the International Music Festival of Venice. This rapid rise can be explained, at least in part, by their preference for Italian composers of the Baroque era such as Antonio Vivaldi, Tomaso Albinoni, Giuseppe Torelli, Giovanni Bononcini, and Giovanni Gabrieli. The precision of their interpretation, as well as their prodigious virtuosity, naturally contributed greatly to their success. Their reputation quickly crossed the Atlantic thanks to the many recordings they made, and in particular their recording of The Four Seasons.
The ensemble recorded The Four Seasons four times and also produced a complete recording of all of Antonio Vivaldi’s concertos. Presented here is the remastered version of The Four Seasons performed by the violinist Felix Ayo, who took part in the founding of I Musici and served as its first concertmaster for more than fifteen years.
