Le Quattro Stagioni

​Antonio Vivaldi was a 17th century Baroque composer of more than 450 concertos, almost half of them were written for the violin. His most famous is The Four Seasons, composed around 1720, and dedicated to Count Morzin of Bohemia. At that time, he was the Maestro de Violino (a violin teacher) at a school for orphaned girls at Mantua. The music describes four sonnets, one for each season, in the following order - spring, summer, autumn and winter, and runs for about 50 minutes. The concerto’s score and format were revolutionary as the musical techniques involved were radical, with each season having three movements. However, the movements were actually part of a larger work of twelve concertos called “Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione” (The Contest Between Harmony and Invention), published in Amsterdam in 1725.
 
There are numerous excellent albums, among them:
Le Quattro Stagioni by Rinaldo Alessandrini with Concerto Italiano. Label: Naive
 
The Four Seasons by Nigel Kenndy with the English Chamber Orchestra. Label: Warner Classics.
 
The Four Seasons by Elmar Oliveira with Gerard Schwarz and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Label: Delos
 
Le Quattro Stagioni by Rachel Podger with Brecon Baroque. Label: Channel Classics.
 
Sixteen Seasons by Alessandro Quarta, Dino De Palma, with Gianna Fratta and Concerto Mediterraneo. Label: Arcana
 
The 4 Seasons by Richard Tognetti with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Label: BIS.
 
The Three Seasons of Antonio Vivaldi by Giuliano Carmignola with Riccardo Doni and the Accademia dell’Annunciata. Label: Arcana.

Reference: Perlman, M., (2020), Antonio Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons), Boston Baroque, ​https://baroque.boston/vivaldi-four-seasons#:~:text=The%20Seasons%20were%20first%20published,and%20invention)%2C%20opus%208.