Violin Concertos Op. 8: Nos. 1–4 (“The Four Seasons, Winter”)

Antonio Vivaldi (1685–1750)

Performance Information: Eckart Preu conducting The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, August 11, 2018 at School for Creative & Performing Arts Corbett Auditorium.

Possibly the most hotly debated topic in all of music history is the expressive potential of music—how music can depict or refer to anything outside itself, whether emotional states, verbal descriptions, or visual images. One thing music can do quite effectively is to depict or refer to other sounds, natural or manmade, and in this set of four violin concertos (part of a set of 12 published together as his Op. 8) Vivaldi often called upon the orchestra to imitate sounds of nature. Perhaps the most striking passages in the “Four Seasons” are his evocations of storms; with strings alone—high, sparkling violin figuration and string tremolos—Vivaldi draws startling effects. He evokes birdsong too, specifying particular varieties, and even adds a barking dog (the gruff viola notes in the slow movement of “Spring”). As a Seattleite, my favorite bit of imitation occurs in the slow movement of “Winter,” where pizzicato notes represent the plop of raindrops.