While Vivaldi penned hundreds of concertos, he is most famous for the set of four grouped under the title Le quattro stagioni, or The Four Seasons. The work was popular in Europe throughout Vivaldi’s lifetime; as one critic wrote in 1740, “Who does not know the Four Seasons of Antonio Vivaldi?” Ironically, modern audiences didn’t—until the collection was revived during the 1960s. The Four Seasons presents a fascinating tension between the standard musical structure composers used during the Baroque era and Vivaldi’s creative instincts. All four concertos fulfill the basic requirements of the genre: they consist of three movements (fast—slow—fast) with ritornello (returning or repeating) sections for the orchestra and flashy solo passages. Sonnets published with each concerto drive the musical content, however. While it is unknown whether Vivaldi wrote the sonnets before or after the music, each poem has a three-part structure that corresponds nicely with the fast-slow-fast concerto form. 

The final concerto in the set depicts the unique features of the coldest season of the year. The opening Allegro illustrates the chill of being outside in unrelenting winds and frosty snow, while the pleasure of sitting next to the warm hearth is the subject of the Largo. Contentment is quickly replaced with the ironies of the season: slipping on the ice despite having exercised extreme caution, feeling the draft of a cold wind inside despite having closed all the windows and doors. As the sonnet wryly concludes, “This is the winter, such are its delights.”  

—Jennifer More, ©2024