The Four Seasons for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 8, Nos. 1-4
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

THE STORY

Published in 1725, Vivaldi’s set of violin concertos The Four Seasons imaginatively gives musical expression to each season of the year. Inspired by landscape paintings by Italian artist Marco Ricci, the concertos were published together with a set of sonnets—likely written by Vivaldi himself—that describe specific aspects of each season evoked by the music; it is uncertain whether the sonnets were written to accompany the music or vice-versa. Each concerto is in three movements, following a slow-fast-slow structure; likewise, each sonnet is broken into three sections.

With very literal musical depictions of the poetry, The Four Seasons is one of the earliest examples of “program music”—music that is meant to describe an extra-musical element. Vivaldi even wrote some of the lines of poetry and specific instructions directly into the score—for example, “play like a barking dog” in the viola part of the final movement of “Autumn,” which evokes a hunting scene

LISTEN FOR

• Trills and fluttering figures in the violins in the beginning of “Spring” portraying the chirping of birds
• The slow tempo that opens “Summer,” representing the laziness of a hot day—and the merciless, dramatic hailstorm that concludes the concerto
• Rustic dance rhythms in the first movement of “Autumn” as peasants celebrate “the pleasure of the rich harvest,” followed by the slow second movement in which the revelers fall into a drunken sleep
• Silvery, high-pitched pizzicato notes in “Winter,” evoking icy rain

INSTRUMENTATION

Solo violin; strings, continuo