Witness the evocative power of Antonio Vivaldi The Four Seasons performed by strings quintet and harpsichord in the extraordinary location of Cátedra Mayor of Ateneo de Madrid.
The most famous of Vivaldi’s works, and a revolutionary example of Italian Baroque music. Music representing the moods of the four seasons has always been popular, and Baroque composers such as Werner and Fischer among others produced cycles of concertos representing the fours seasons. But none were to do so in such precise pictorial detail as Antonio Vivaldi in his Four Seasons concerto.

The whole Baroque epoch showed a deep interest in the amazing natural changes determined by the seasons. Bernini itself represented them in its fine sculptures. Baroque art has a dramatic conception of the relationship between man and nature and between man and the universe. Galileo’s discoveries brought about a shift in the position of man, who was no longer at the center of the cosmos. As a consequence, a new attitude of awe and wonder towards the power of nature
emerged.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons are a symbol of his era. Not only is the feeling of astonishment conveyed by his spectacular description of nature, but also by his musical language. The composition aims at astounding the listener with unusual melodies, created through increased rhythm and higher harmonic contrast. His music is thus freer, more fluid and able to better describe the story it wishes to narrate. The scenes range from the chirp of different birds in Spring, to Summer storms, from fleeing foxes in Autumn, to teeth chattering and rain pouring down in Winter. In accordance with the highest expression of baroque concepts, nature is dramatized, and the audience feels actively involved in the rapid succession of events taking place in the work of art.