Vladimir Vivaldi’s Winter: A Score Like a Hollywood Thriller
How do you write a thriller long before the cinema existed? The conductor opens the score of the first movement of Concerto No. 4 in F minor and shows how violins, cellos and double basses paint ice, wind and shivering.
In this episode
- Chattering teeth and gusts of wind. How they sound in the orchestra.
- The soloist and the orchestra. How the soloist interacts with the orchestra.
- Vivaldi’s special effects. Which devices he invented and how he carried them out.
Vivaldi and The Four Seasons: four concertos, four characters
Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is a cycle of four concertos for solo violin and orchestra: “Spring,” “Summer,” “Autumn” and “Winter.” Each concerto is devoted to its own season and sounds in its own way: each has its own character, its own colors and its own devices with which the orchestra paints a picture of nature. “Winter” is Concerto No. 4 in F minor, and it concludes the cycle.
Concerto No. 4 in F minor: the three movements of “Winter”
Like the other concertos of the cycle, “Winter” consists of three movements: a fast first, a calm second (Largo) and a fast third. The conductor analyzes the first movement in this note. It begins with cold and shivering, and the violins, cellos and double basses paint ice, wind and chattering teeth. Special attention goes to how the soloist interacts with the orchestra, and what special effects Vivaldi devised and how he realized them.
Today Vladimir Yatskevich, conductor of Moscow City Orchestra, opens the score and shows what this sound is made of. More about him on the page “Vladimir Yatskevich.” Other episodes are in the series “Conductor’s Notes.”
Vivaldi’s “Winter” live: Moscow City Orchestra
Moscow City Orchestra under Vladimir Yatskevich plays the classics live: at concerts, corporate evenings, celebrations and private events. If you are choosing music for your evening, see the pages “Orchestra for a Concert,” “Orchestra for a Corporate Event” and “String Orchestra.” We will tailor the program, lineup and format of the performance to your event. An overview of the ensembles is on the page “Orchestra.”
